Zambia’s African Green Resources has launched an $81 million financing programme under which the company and its partners will provide farm supplies and technology to farmers in exchange for grain.
As part of broader plans by AGR to invest $150 million in Zambia for projects including a 50 megawatt solar farm and irrigation dam, AGR will target 120 commercial farmers and 250,000 small and middle farmers with the new programme to boost food security in Zambia and the surrounding region, Chairman Zuneid Yousuf said in a statement.
It will cover 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser for wheat and soya farming – worth $55 million – and $26 million for projects such as the expansion of grain storage silos.
It will be financed through regional and global banks, with the money repaid from the produce the programme yields.
“We expect to receive 44,000 tonnes of wheat per season,” Yousuf said, some of which will be processed before being sold on local and international markets.
“We will repay the loan from sales of wheat flour, soya processing plant products and silo revenue.”
Some of the money is also guaranteed by the African Development Bank, the African Union, Sace Italy and Agriculture Grain International.
The farmers, meanwhile, would benefit from the ability to grow their businesses with the help of access to markets and credit finance, Yousuf added.
World Food Programme (WFP) estimates indicate that a record 45 million people in 16 nations in southern Africa face growing hunger after repeated drought, low yields, widespread flooding and sluggish economic growth.
[Reuters]
The best news on my birthday. This is very progressive. The only issue we have is how the benefits of such programmes are managed. We need more of these programmes, more tax payers more financially sound people. just where they will pay there tax too. Mama. Well done
But why is the picture showing casava growing?
Happy Birthday @Cat Power. Don’t drink too much, it’s monday, and your job demands to be sober, it’s not like those PF ministers who drink even at lunch break.
@ulubunda. This is how lazy these so called ‘journalists’ are!!! They just rush to post articles and slap on the nearest picture they can get a hold of. What’s even more annoying is they don’t bother to add a caption.
Good development which I hope our brothers and sisters in the farming community can take advantage of and drag themselves out of poverty.
HBD @Cat Power. I hope you took a few days off to enjoy yourself.
Ubufi bwa PF
PF is using this new scheme to dupe farmers of their maize because it knows farmers are hugely dissapointed with PF agric policies and not willing to sell maize to its thieving agents again.
PF knows that if farmers withhold their maize then price of maize mill will increase astronomically to disadvantage its chances of winning elections.
Thank God farmers more especially those in Southern province have woken up and are refusing to sell their maize.
PF and Lungu are theives and should be booted out asap.