By Staff Writer
Minister of Commerce Trade and Industry Chipoka Mulenga says the Government will hold an aggregation meeting after the rainy season to segment all products produced locally.
He said the Government will document products produced in Zambia, including quality, quantities and localities where they are made.
The Minister said this information is vital because it will help the Government know what areas should be prioritized as the country begins to actualize the agro parks envisaged by the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs).
Mr Mulenga said this during an event organized by the Common African Agroi-Parks on the sidelines of the African Union Summit on Industrialization.
He informed the meeting that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Zambia on establishing an Agro-Industrial park was signed on 18th March 2021.
Mr Mulenga said the joint agro-industrial park would be anchored on mutual and comparative advantages in the agricultural subsector as a starting point for the industrial and trade cooperation, thereby establishing a framework of working relationship between the parties based on equality, overall reciprocity and mutual benefit.
The MoU will also increase the manufacturing base and product diversification in key priority sectors by strengthening value addition and value chains at the national and bilateral levels.This will enhance the market competitiveness of the industrial sector, thereby expanding intra-regional trade in manufacturers to achieve the structural transformation that would foster the overall socio-economic development in the two countries.
And Zimbabwe’s Minister of Commerce expressed happiness that both countries were working towards actualizing the signed MOU to benefit its citizenry.
She said Africa had the potential to be the Worlds food basket but was quick to outline measures such as improved packing and storage of food, a problem that many African Countries were grappling with.
The Minister said that despite Zambia and Zimbabwe’s population of 60 – 70 percent employed in the Agriculture sector, neither country has optimally leveraged the industry to drive structural transformation, despite abundant arable land and water bodies.
The side was held under the theme “The Common African Agro-parks as a way of attracting private investments in establishing transboundary mega agro-industrial hubs in the continent.”
This is contained in a statement issued by Inutu Mwanza First Secretary-Press &Tourism Zambia Embassy, Addis Ababa
