ZAMBIA - Cargill Zambia has launched a US $2 million maize milling plant in Chipata.

Speaking during the launch yesterday, Cargill projects manager Emmanuel Mbewe said the milling plant would provide local and urban farmers with reliable and consistent market for the maize.

“This is a special day for Cargill Zambia. It’s special because this year, 2015, we are celebrating 150 years of Cargill’s existence here on earth. It’s also a special day today because we launch the first [milling plant] here in Chipata,” Mbewe said.

He said the mill was the first-ever to be launched by Cargill in Zambia.

“The new maize [milling plant] underlines Cargill’s commitment to the economic growth and prosperity of Zambia, and aligns it strongly with government’s clearly stated desire to develop a thriving agriculture sector. We are interacting with over 62,000 smallholder farmers who are supported through our scheme,” Mbewe said.

He said the launch of the plant meant that maize growers in the province had an assured market for their crop.

“Cargill is going to locally source the maize that we are going to mill here. This is a clear demonstration that Cargill is committed to infrastructure investment in Zambia and also to fully participate in value addition,” said Mbewe, adding that the plant had a capacity to mill two tonnes of maize per hour.

Cargill is also one of the leading cotton ginning companies in the country.

March 11, 2015; http://postzambia.com/news.php?id=6560#sthash.e5WoNf3I.dpuf