Zambia: Zambian Breweries’ investments in local malting barley production amount to US$7 mln

Zambian Breweries has pumped in US$7 million to support commercial farmers to cultivate barley for the 2011 planting season, All Africa reported on June, 16.

Zambian Breweries technical director Ian Mackintosh said during a media social gathering in Lusaka on June, 15 that the company had invested $7 million for the cultivation of barley in Mpongwe, Mkushi, Chisamba, Mazabuka and Lusaka.

Mr Mackintosh said under the 2011 season, farmers have planted 1,600 hectares of barley and are expected to harvest 12,000 tonnes.

"In this year's farming period we have included other areas from our initial pilot project which only covered two areas namely Mpongwe and Lusaka and through our expansion of the programme we are going to plant 1,600," Mr Mackintosh said.

He said the firm started trials for barley growing in 2009 and invested 6.5 million in the project.

Mr Mackintosh said in 2010 the company decided to invest an additional $1.5million into the project.

"The result from the trails were remarkable and we decided in 2010 to expand our programme and we have planted 1,600 hectares of barley and we have harvested 12,000 tonnes of barley which will make our brewing easy," Mr Mackintosh said.

He said in the past the company used to import barley from the US and Europe and now that the crop was being grown in Zambia it would reduce on the cost of doing business.

The support towards the farmers would help improve the livelihood thus contributing to the development of the economy.

He said barley was a difficult crop to plant because it needed irrigation as result disadvantaging the small scale farmers.

Mr Mackintosh said the firm was putting in place measures that could see small scale farmers included in the project.

17 June, 2011