NANNETTE BOOSTS RICE PRODUCTION IN NORTH

By HAPPY MULOLANI

THE National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS) identified “inadequate availability of quality seed, outdated production technologies, poor agronomic practices and uncoordinated markets at farmers’ level as main production constraints to rice production.”  

There port also reveals that rice has been under promoted, which is certainly a point of further intervention by the Government of Zambia through the Ministry of Agriculture, which needs to ensure rice interventions take a different focus in order to upscale its production.

In previous years, efforts have made by United Nations (UN) institutions such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), CGIAR institutions like Africa Rice Centre (ARC) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The Ministry of Agriculture has also worked with Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), donors, supporters and various NGOs to promote knowledge on rice as well as increase their production.

All these organisations did their best in their approaches. But to continue to promote rice and upscale its production to contribute to the rice deficit the country faces, there was need to train farmers in different dimensions, which not only positions demonstration plots as learning points but also go through assessment of their selected value chain and its viability after a specific period. That will ultimately qualify them for a matching grant to support the growth of the value chain, because often the biggest hindrance to growth of value chains is lack of finance.

Through the Enhanced Smallholder Agribusiness Promotion Programme (E-SAPP) with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)’s support designed to support rice as one of the value chains among its commodities of focus. Nannette Investment in Kasama in Northern province was financed through a matching grant of K1, 533,000 to establish the rice processing plant which is now operational. Purchase a rice processing plant, with a processing capacity of 26metric tonnes of rice per day.

Nannette Investment is a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) which has been working and collaborating with smallholder farmers in Mungwi district in an out-grower scheme arrangement located in Kasama, which is 27kilometres and is also the provincial headquarters of Northern province.

NannetteInvestment Managing Partner, Boyd Mtonga disclosed that he opted to venture inthe rice value chain to offer a niche market for rice.

“AsNannette, we provided planters, seed and inputs to the farmers we are workingwith and also provide a market for their rice, which in turn we sale to otherestablished markets in the rice value chain,” Mr Mtonga said.

Hestrongly believes that private players need to complement government’s effortsby offering alternative markets. Such an initiative will also stimulate farmersinterest as long as the prices offered are attractive.

MrMtonga expresses concern that this year climate change has affected riceproduction in the district.

“Thequantity of rice which Nannette Investment has bought slumped from 1,106metrictonnes last year to 800metric tonnes this year due to poor rains recorded,” MrMtonga disclosed.

Itis evident that farmers need to be wary of climate change and how to address its effects amidst varying weather patterns to avoid recording low yields as witnessed this year.

One of the rice farmers in Chifulo area in Mungwi, Patrick Mwamba who was trained under the Farming As A Business Schools (FaaBS) in agronomic practices in rice, has benefited from Nannette’s available market. He sold his rice the past two years and has managed to build an iron-roofed house and pay school fees for children.

Mr Mwamba calls on farmers to utilise the plains along the Chambeshi river in Mungwi. He also urged fellow farmers to sale as an organised entity, their profit returns will be marginal.

Anotherfarmer, Mwamba Mwalula, located in Mumba camp in Mungwi district in Northern province, explained that he learnt agronomic practices of rice cultivation such as line spacing as opposed to broadcasting. Mr Mwalula also accessed pure seed which is better in terms of production.

“Afterthe FaaBS training, I now produce 12 bags of rice in a lima, compared to previous years I would harvest five bags of rice,” Mr. Mwalula said.

Out of the rice proceeds, he bought a motor bike and built a house as well as purchased cattle.

Northern Province Provincial Agricultural Coordinator, Sylvester Nyendwa is thrilled with E-SAPP’s support to Nannette Investment to build the first-ever state of the art rice processing plant in Kasama as it has the capacity to cater for the farmers in Northern province and beyond.

Mr. Nyendwa urged farmers to seriously consider cultivating rice as one of the viable cash crop with a readily available market. He called on the farmers to take advantage of the facility, as it adds value to the rice besides offering a market, which is a positive gain for them in the province.

“Farmers in Mungwi district need to make use of the plains it is endowed with along the Chambeshi river and cultivate paddy rice which they can easily sale to Nannette Investment, which now has the capacity to both process and value addition, then sell to other potential markets outside the province,” Mr. Nyendwa said.

With Zambia’s rice deficit, the existence of this rice processing plant is one of government’s commitment towards contributing to the economic and nutrition needs of the country.

For the facility to fully function, it requires constant supply of rice and supply the already existing market. ln this way,          the ministry’s goal of increasing production, volumes and sales will be achieved in the long-term.

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