Zambia to become regional agric hub

BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes

@SunZambian   

AN agriculture company based in the United States, Corteva Agriscience, has pledged its support to Zambia’s drive to become a regional hub for agricultural innovation by offering local farmers integrated seeds and crop protection.

Speaking at the launch of the firm in Zambia, its commercial unit leader for East Africa, Joseph Anampiu, said a productive, high-performance agricultural sector would deliver significant improvements to Zambia’s gross domestic product (GDP), employment and broadening the country’s tax base.

“Considering that the agriculture sector in Zambia employs almost half of the population, it is important that we support institutions vital to the growth and development of the sector,

“Corteva’s presence in Zambia is to ultimately provide support to Zambian farmers, using their strong value proposition of an integrated seed, crop protection and technology offering to enhance operations and improve farming productivity for the benefit of Zambian society,” Mr Anampiu said.

Mr Anampiu emphasized that the company’s ambition was to be the trusted leader in food and agriculture through open and honest engagement with farmers.

At the same function, the Zambia National Farmers’ union (ZNFU) president Jervis Zimba said the production landscape in Zambia was dynamic as farmers constantly strived to survive.

Mr Zimba said farmers were responding to many factors such as dealing with the effects of climate change, enhancing productivity and embracing diversification.

“There is an abundant desire for seed technologies among the farmers and we are excited with the efforts being made by big companies such as Corteva Agriscience,” he said.

Corteva Agriscience signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ZNFU aimed at championing customer success, and consumer needs through collaborating on initiatives that benefitted farmers.