Livestock Centre crafts K20m strategy

THE Batoka Livestock Development Centre (BLDC) in Choma will require an investment of K20.6 million over five years to actualise its vision and mission.

Southern Province Agricultural Planner, Evans Nkhoma, said the centre’s mission to generate a safe, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly technologies from adaptive research would be accelerated.

Mr Nkhoma, who is also a consultant in Strategic planning for the BLDCnoted that the centre would intensify value chain in crops, fish, livestock and livestock production systems to become self- sustainable. He was speaking during a one-day dissemination of the Draft Strategic Plan of the BLDC to Senior Agricultural Officers in the ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock in Choma.

He explained that the BLDC would produce high quality livestock and livestock products for sale in commercial quantities locally, nationally and internationally. Mr Nkhoma said the centre had designed its Strategic Plan in a manner that would enhance Fisheries and livestock research in a sustainable manner.

He stated that the vision of the centre was to become a competitive and self-sustaining livestock development and research Centre in Zambia.

Mr Nkhoma noted that other areas to be included at the centre was commercial production of livestock, fish and their products as well as pasture seed and fodder to stakeholders while contributing significantly to economic development.

He asserted that to realise the vision the strategic plan has identified two strategic issues of focus and their related strategic results that include enhancement of Livestock research resulting into innovative, efficient and effective research activities.