ZAMBIA COURTS FRENCH AGRO FIRMS
FRANCE should explore more of Zambia’s vast agriculture potential and seek to form partnerships, an envoy has said.
Zambia’s Ambassador to France, Christine Kaseba, said there had been many trade missions undertaken between the two countries and urged Franch firms to follow-up on agricultural missions. Dr Kaseba said she was amazed to learn that a good number of French companies undertook trade missions and had success stories to tell about Zambia. She said this when she toured the Paris Agri-Business Show – SIMA 2019 at Paris Nord Villepinte in Pari. SIMA is a premier agriculture show that takes place every two years and marks its 78th edition this year with a focus on addressing demands and requirements of efficient and sustainable agriculture. Dr Kaseba implored French Agri-Tech companies to help provide viable solutions and enhance capacity building in the field of agriculture in Zambia. This is contained in a statement issued by First Secretary for Press in France Yande Musonda yesterday. France, she stressed, should follow-up on the French companies that undertook trade missions to Zambia and learn about their experiences. She, however, learned that French companies were investing more in Francophone countries and thereby called on them to also consider Anglophone countries like Zambia. Dr. Kaseba said Zambia offered huge investment prospects, guaranteed safety of investment and a stable economic climate. She urged the companies to be magnanimous in balancing the equation between Francophone and Anglophone countries and explore the great prospects in Zambia. “My Government has prioritised the agriculture sector for achieving diversification, economic growth and poverty reduction in Zambia as enshrined in our Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP). “Focus areas for my Government’s Intervention include increased investment in livestock and fisheries, irrigation development, mechanisation, research and development, storage facilities development, productivity-enhancing technology development, just to mention a few,” Dr Kaseba added. The ambassador also noted the great need for mechanisation in the agricultural sector to increase farm productivity in the country as more people, especially the youth, were venturing into farming. And co-organisers of SIMA 2019, AXEMA, praised the Zambian Government for prioritising the agricultural sector as one of the key sectors in economic growth. The Mission in France has been working in collaboration with AXEMA, a French Association for Agro- equipment, that organises the Paris Agric-Business Show. About 1, 800 exhibitors are expected at the 78th edition this year, the world’s oldest agro-business show. AXEMA director-general Ms. Valérie Lescaut expressed optimism that Zambia had the potential to grow its agricultural sector having placed political will at the highest level. Dr Kaseba in turn invited AXEMA to exhibit at the Zambia International Trade Fair in Ndola or the Zambia Agriculture and Commercial Show in Lusaka along with other French Agri-Tech companies.
My Government has prioritised the agriculture sector for achieving diversification, economic growth and poverty reduction in Zambia as enshrined in our Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP). - Christine Kaseba