CHISHALA MUSONDA,
CATHERINE MUMBA
Choma
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has announced an ambitious plan to shift Zambia’s export focus from mining to livestock with a target of earning US$1 billion annually from beef exports.
Speaking at a bull auction held at his ranch in Choma yesterday, where a 584-kilogramme bull fetched K200,000, President Hichilema made it clear: Zambia’s economic future must be built on production, and beef is taking centre stage.
“For too long, we’ve relied on mining exports. Now, we’re saying morover metals – it’s time to diversify,” the President said to cheers from farmers, cattle traders, and even bidders from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“Angola and the DRC are already buying beef from Brazil and Argentina. Why not Zambia?” The President revealed that the Government is working on establishing beef export zones, with a strong emphasis on meeting international standards and reducing disease burdens to access regional markets.
The strategy, he said, starts at the district level, driving productivity from the grassroots up.
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