President Hakainde Hichilema showcased what the results of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China would look like, granting Zambian farmers access to the world’s largest market for fresh blueberries. This significant achievement is poised to provide a substantial boost to the nation’s horticulture industry, marking a new era of agricultural opportunities for Zambia.
The MOU, signed during President Hichilema’s visit to China, cements a vital partnership that promises to stimulate economic growth and improve the livelihoods of Zambian farmers. Under this agreement, Zambia will be able to export its locally grown blueberries to China, tapping into a market that imported a staggering 43,000 Metric Tonnes of blueberries in 2022 alone.
President Hichilema, who has been a vocal advocate for the development of Zambia’s agricultural sector, expressed his enthusiasm for this groundbreaking achievement. He said, “Farming is not just a way of life; it is a business that can drive our economy forward. This MOU with China opens up a world of opportunities for our farmers. We are ready to take our agricultural products to global markets and showcase the high quality and exceptional taste of Zambian blueberries.”
This significant market linkage is poised to have several positive impacts on Zambia’s agricultural landscape:
1. Economic Growth: The export of blueberries to China is expected to boost Zambia’s GDP, create employment opportunities, and generate foreign exchange earnings. Increased economic activity in the horticulture sector can contribute significantly to the nation’s overall economic development.
2. Income Generation: Zambian farmers, especially those involved in blueberry cultivation, stand to benefit immensely from this market access. The demand for fresh blueberries in China presents an opportunity for farmers to increase their income and improve their living standards.
3. Technological Advancements: As the demand for blueberries grows, farmers are likely to adopt modern farming techniques and technologies to meet international quality standards. This could lead to improvements in agricultural practices across the country.
4. Diversification: This partnership marks a significant step in diversifying Zambia’s export portfolio. Reducing reliance on traditional commodities and exploring new markets for non-traditional products is a strategy that can bolster the nation’s resilience in international trade.
5. Strengthening International Relations: Beyond economic benefits, the MOU strengthens diplomatic ties between Zambia and China. It underscores the value of collaboration and cooperation in addressing mutual interests and challenges.
With Zambia’s agricultural sector poised to become a cornerstone of the country’s economy, this MOU aligns perfectly with President Hichilema’s vision of transforming farming into a thriving business venture. It not only opens doors for Zambian blueberry farmers but also sets a precedent for other agricultural products to enter the global market.
Last year he encouraged us to grow soyabeans because he had found a big market in China. Today many peasant farmers that cultivated soyabeans don’t have kind words for him. Does he expect anyone to believe him this time around? And anyway how farmers have blueberry fields? Raise your hand we see you. He’s just politicking as usual. He’s lamentably failed to transition from opposition rhetoric to leadership. The shameless graphman
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You think maize or cassava plams turn into blue berries ????
The president is encouraging farmers and younger geraration to embak of different plants to grow…..blueberries are one such plant.
You have to start blueberry plantations, bladala……..
It is a very lucrative fruit……..
There’s a lot of horn blowing in UPND: Ati “This significant achievement is poised to provide a substantial boost to the nation’s horticulture industry, marking a new era of agricultural opportunities Dream on
Liar! Isn’t this what you said about soyabeans?
Do you eat blueberries with nshima?
The ones who are growing these Blueberries are mainly white farmers who don’t want to share the technical knowledge on how best to grow and even how to access the seeds and seedlings.
They fear their market will be stolen from local farmers. Let them not forget that alot of them are here as investors but that doesn’t mean they should be unfair and try to create a monopoly to disadvantage us Zambians, all we ask for is transfer of knowledge and opportunities for our people.
Blueberries are an amazing business opportunity for Zambians as well as they are a healthy food that fights NCDs such as cancer, more people must grow this fruit so it is affordable locally.
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This is the problem we have with zambian trained people……..
How many agriculturalists has zambia trained ????
Thousands
Yet they fail to adapt to new crops.
Something is wrong , somewhere.
Here we go again on the lighter skin colour
What is stopping us from venturing into this field as all the information needed is on the web
or locally, so lets not make excuses for our lack of courage or foresight to venture into new fields
instead of waiting for subsidised crops like maize, soya and Cassava
Am sure this is just trying to justify these pointless MoU’s he signed in China. Do you honestly think Zambia is going to produce more blueberries than USA, Peru, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Spain, France, South Africa, Morocco, Poland, Australia,…
And by the way, the blueberries in this article (OZblu) are already being sold in shops here in the UK. Did Zambia have to sign an MoU with the UK to export them? Can UPND please stop misleading the gullible masses out there who are struggling to make it because of the extreme high cost of living.
Those zambian blue berries sold in the UK face the full spectrum of taxes………..
Those that will be exported to China, under the MoU , will not favmce the full spectrum of taxes ……..
That is one of the reasons for signing MoU
These are liars. Don’t fall for this propaganda. And so what? This is insignificant when people can’t afford mealie meal in their own country
If you cant afford grow Maize by getting off your backside
If your government had failed to ensure affordable prices as was the case under pf rule, then just resign and leave us strong capable men to rule
The PF indebted and impoverished Zambians…remember that.Ati affordable prices,my a$$.
Zambian women: stop marrying Chinese males, it is a disgrace.
You cannot blame them, it is poverty under upnd
It’s not a walk in the part. South Africa even exports the stuff into Zambia. Anyway it’s just an MoW and not a contract. No need to get excited.
Zambiërs is baie dom mense. Why complain over everything the president or government does? Here in Namibia cost of living is also very high ka unga 12.5 kg is @ N$150, but we don’t complain like you. We export grapes, beef etc. to Europe. In recent day investors from different countries especially Western are pouring in our country to invest in our green hydrogen project. We praise our government for that or though they have many Short comings. But you, when the president go USA he is a puppet of the west, when he travels China, he went window shopping, what do you exactly want? You don’t have technology, you don’t have money you think HH is a miracle worker…!
These are PF caders and their clique supporters who were used of free PF handouts………..
Now no more free handouts is why they don’t stop complaining
He told us himself that he was a miracle worker. The other person claims it’s PF who are complaining….the entire population is therefore PF?
In Nambia you get good wages and unemployment levels as are decent.
Note: *although not or thought
Why do we keep just exporting primary products? Why can’t we rise up the export food chain like Vietnam,China ,Singapore etc?
The trick is that these countries produce these foods. As for minerals countries don’t want make holes in their ground, also they want reserve their minery for the future while they exhaust your resources.
Than man has failed to produce maize. He has failed to bring down the prices fertilizer now he wants to start another project with so much failure so far. He can not even collect taxes in the mines. On other hand, if you can have the whole president traveling to China to sign MoUs for blueberries, then we have a very serious problem as a country.