FraDor FARMS Suppliers Ltd.: Cultivating Tradition and Innovation Across Zambia

By: Mirriam Chomba Mutale

Location: Our main family farm is located in Kawambwa district in Luapula province and two are rentedfarm plots in Lundazi and Chipata in Eastern Province of Zambia.

Main Crop: Roselle Hibiscus
Other Crops: Cassava, Sunflower, Maize, Groundnuts, Beans, soyabeans and vegetables.
Livestock: Local Chickens, Local Goats

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Farm Description:

FraDor FARMS Suppliers Ltd. is a farm located in both Luapula and Eastern Provinces. The farm focuses on the cultivation of Roselle Hibiscus as its main business crop since 2019. For the past two years, we have been doing seed multiplication in readiness for a farming season project called Roselle Hibiscus Out grower Scheme 2024/25. This Farming season, we intend to introduce this crop to a lot of farmers in Eastern Province.

*We cultivate various other crops including cassava, sunflower, maize, groundnuts, soyabeans and beans. The farm also grows vegetables, raises local chickens and goats. These Crops are grown mainly for household security, we Only sale the surplus of these farm products.

Crops:
* Roselle Hibiscus: This crop is known for its vibrantly colored calyces, which are used to produce herbal teas, jams, jellies, and other products.
* Cassava: A versatile root vegetable that can be eaten fresh, boiled, fried, or ground into flour.
* Sunflower: Grown for its edible seeds, which can be consumed directly or used to produce sunflower oil.
* Maize: A staple cereal crop in Zambia, used for making cornmeal, polenta, and other foods.
* Groundnuts: A legume rich in protein and healthy fats, often consumed roasted or used to produce peanut butter.
* Beans: A good source of plant-based protein and fiber, available in various varieties.
Livestock:
* Local Chickens:  A good source of meat and eggs, well-adapted to the local environment.
* Local Goats: Provide milk, meat, and manure for fertilizer.

This farm profile provides a general overview of FraDor FARMS Suppliers Ltd. 

-The farm size in Total we have 10 hectares. 6at the family farm and 4 hectares rented farm plots in Eastern.

-The 4 hectares in Eastern Province are under maximum utilization only for two crops Roselle Hibiscus and sunflower for cooking oil processing since we have an Oil expeller and hibiscus only for seed multiplication and local market of dry hibiscus calyces.

 - The 6 hectares in Luapula province we only have 3 hectares for production of vegetables, Groundnuts, Beans, soya beans maize and cassava for Household food security. The remaining 3 hectares is virgin land for future investments.

Note: only 7 hectares are under maximum utilization.

 Farming Practices History: 

-Farming has been one of our traditional practices, but the serious farming we started in 2019 and we thought of cultivating Roselle Hibiscus as our main crop, because it has been a family crop grown since 1976, when our grandmother introduced it as tea for medicinal purposes. She brought the seed from Congo DRC.

- It was introduced as a Herb for blood production.

* Farming practices and techniques:

-We have been practicing sustainable smart climate change farming. Almost 70% of our crops are grown naturally with organic fertilizer and we use conversation farming.

* Marketing and sales channels:

-Our main market is Food Reserve Agency (FRA)for surplus maize, cassava we take to Congo Boarders and Lusaka, sunflower we're into value addition, we process cooking oil. 

-For Roselle Hibiscus, we want to target export market and value addition into various products. so far we have identified some products will concentrate on, these are tea, wine, jam and drink processing.

-Since hibiscus is not commonly cultivated by many farmers in Zambia, we want to introduce it as an additional income generating produce at household level. This program can be possible by partnering with farmers in our communities with an Out-grower Scheme. This year we want to introduce it to Eastern Province our target is to cultivate it with 50 farmers with 50 × 1 hectare from the participating farmer with 50/50 partnership. FraDor FARMS Suppliers Ltd will supply the farmers with seed and technical support from nursery to Marketing.

-We have already started Looking for export market and start value addition.

- For this reason, we are looking for Market linkages and partners. individual farmers, women's groups, youth groups, companies and organizations who can come on board we work together in partnership. The reasons of this project we want alot of farmers to benefit from this crop for a number of reasons1. Medicinal values2. Nutritional values3. Economical Values Financial benefits: Farming as a business it's a source of income. We normally fetch good money out of this farming business. Despite some challenges the losses have been minimized due to diversity of crops we cultivate.