His Royal Highness Chief Chitambo has commended Government for taking development to Chitambo District through the establishment of a cassava processing plant which is being spearheaded by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
Speaking when an IDC team paid a courtesy call on him over the weekend, HRH Chief Chitambo said he was happy to note the significant progress made towards operationalization of the processing plant. He added the processing plant will bring many benefits to the local people in the district such as creation of sustainable jobs and business linkages of the value chain.
HRH Chief Chitambo committed to support the project through the mobilization of cassava farmers in the area to supply feedstock for the processing plant for value addition into cassava meal, starch and animal feed. He said news of the imminent operationalization of the processing plant would encourage farmers to increase the hectarage of their cassava fields in anticipation of a readily available local off-taker for their crop. Currently Chitambo district has over 100 cooperatives with approximately 6,282 cassava farmers, who stand to benefit from the establishment of the cassava processing plant.
Meanwhile, HRH Chief Chitambo said he was optimistic about the economic outlook of the country in the next five years and has called on relevant stakeholders in the area to support and work closely with Government to enhance economic activities in the District for the benefit of the local people.
Chitambo Agro Processing plant is a grant funded project that was recently handed over to the IDC to operationalize, for the purposes of creating value addition to cassava while providing a ready market for the farmers. Chitambo District is endowed with cassava which is grown by local small-scale farmers.