The Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) has embarked on an extensive value addition initiative as part of its strategic commitment to maximizing commercial value for its wood products.
ZAFFICO Managing Director Mr. Mundia Mundia unveiled the ambitious investment plan during a recent visit to the company by IDC CEO Mr. Cornwell Muleya, outlining a strategic roadmap that spans the next few years.
Over the next three years, ZAFFICO intends to make substantial investments in its infrastructure. Its plans include the establishment of a sawmill, creosote line, and kiln by 2024. Subsequent steps in 2025 entail the installation of a chipboard plant, followed by a plywood plant and a briquette factory in 2026. This forward-thinking approach aims to significantly enhance the corporation’s value chain and operational efficiency, in line with the IDC’s operational reform agenda for its subsidiaries. ZAFFICO is 62.88% owned by IDC.
Mr. Mundia emphasized ZAFFICO’s commitment to value addition and mechanization, seeking to elevate the company’s long-term value and revenue while retaining a focus on environmental sustainability.
One crucial aspect of this strategy involves replenishing ZAFFICO’s dwindling wood stock by progressively adding 50,000 hectares of new plantations, with an annual planting target of 5,000 hectares over the next 10 years. This restocking initiative is envisioned to ensure sustained business growth and profitability in the future.
To support this vision, ZAFFICO has already secured 50,000 hectares of land across four provinces—Luapula, Muchinga, Northern, and North-Western—for establishing new exotic forest plantations. Moreover, the corporation is actively replanting 2,000 hectares of clear-felled areas annually, demonstrating its proactive stance toward ecological balance.
Commending ZAFFICO’s reinvestment efforts, IDC CEO Mr. Muleya emphasized the importance of seeking recapitalization using green funds to finance these capital projects. He advised ZAFFICO to collaborate with the Ministry of Green Economy to explore avenues for accessing funds through carbon credits, aligning with sustainable financing mechanisms.
Mr. Muleya commended ZAFFICO’s long-term investment strategy, noting its significance in securing a sustainable supply of wood products for the next decades.
