By CHATULA KANGALI –
THE Mpongwe Cooperative Union (MCU) has called for more investment in value addition in the agriculture sector to increase productivity.
Cooperative chairperson Dickson Chipatela said there was need for investment in agro processing in the district to achieve value for money for the produce.
Mr Chipatela said the district was producing a variety of crops, vegetables and livestock which needed value addition.
He said in an interview that investment in value addition would help increase productivity in soya beans, maize, tomatoes and livestock.
“Although they are a few companies like Novatech that is adding value to our crops, we still need more investment in agro processing, we produce groundnuts, and investment in agro processing would not only provide market for the farmers but also create jobs for the youths in the rural area,” Mr Chipatela said.
He said the cooperative was currently running a solar powered milling plant given to them by the Government which was helping it to generate revenue and providing mealie meal to the people of Mpongwe.
Mr Chipatela said the cooperative owned a truck which was used to transport farming inputs on behalf of Government to farmers.
He however, urged farmers to diversify their production of crops as Mpongwe had a favourable climate for the growth of variety of crops like wheat, millet, soya beans and rice among others.
