Zambian Breweries has called for the commercialisation and industrialisation of cassava, which is used in the manufacturing of various products such handbags, glue, confectionery products, baking flour, as well as make of ethanol, which is used to make hand sanitisers.
The country’s largest brewing company says it remains committed to empowering local farmers by helping them increase productivity in an efficient and environmentally sustainable manner.
Zambian Breweries Corporate Affairs Manager Ezekiel Sekele said for the last two years, the company has been working together with the government and Luapula Provincial administration to help industrialise and commercialise cassava in Luapula.
Speaking during a plenary session of the Meet the Farmers Virtual Summit 2020, Mr Sekele said: “Zambian Breweries is among the pioneers in this country who have commercialised cassava. Zambian Breweries in the last ten years or so, they’ve been producing a product called Eagle Lager, using cassava.
“ZB gets cassava from Luapula Province, from Northern Province, from Muchinga Province, working with over 6,000 small-scale farmers.”
The summit is being held under the theme “Innovation, Agriculture, Future”.
He further said: “The company is targeting to buy between 3,000 and 4,000 tonnes of cassava in 2020 from last year’s 3,000 tonnes. Cassava is a key ingredient in brewing the company’s affordable local beer brand Eagle Lager.”
The country’s biggest brewer said the summit provided an opportunity to network with the country’s established and emerging farmers who have the potential to supply the company with the raw ingredients that go into making its popular products, such as Eagle and Mosi Lager.
The summit brings together some of the most important industry players and advance to accelerate the spread of knowledge, create new connections, and generate ideas, leads and sales to develop and expand the industry.
Speaking when he opened the even, Agriculture Minister Hon. Michael Katambo said that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had to make the very difficult decision to cancel major public gatherings and events such as the Kitwe mining and Agriculture Show, the International Trade Fair in Ndola and the Agriculture and Commercial Show in Lusaka.
“It is therefore for this reason that government has sought to endorse and partner with initiatives such as the Meet The Farmers Virtual Summit who are offering innovative solutions to cushion some of the negative impacts that have arisen due to the cancellation of these shows,” said Hon Katambo.
