By CHATULA KANGALI –
GOVERNMENT has embarked on expanding Nchelenge rubber plantation in Luapula Province to reach the required hectarage to make it economically viable for exports.
Zambia’s rubber can only be economically viable if the plantation in Nchelenge reaches one thousand hectares.
The Government through the Department of Forestry has embarked on expanding the plantation and is targeting to plant 50 hectares of rubber trees annually.
Nchelenge District administrative officer (DAO) Victor Hajongola said in an interview that the Government had started the expansion of the rubber plantation.
He said the district had this farming season planted more than 50 hectares of rubber and had planted a base of about four hectares.
Mr Hajongola said about 140 hectares of trees had matured and that 30,000 trees were expected to be ready in three years’ time.
“We are now looking at planting 50 hectares of rubber per year, provided there is enough funding, we can do more than that. We have over 140 hectares of grown rubber which is ready for tapping.
“For the country to start exporting rubber and attract investments, we need to have more than a thousand hectares of plants,” he said.
Mr Hajongola said the plantation currently received K180,000 annually from the Government.
He said that rubber grown in Nchelenge had a quality of 98 per cent and was economically viable and could be exported anywhere around the world.
Mr Hajongola said the rubber sector had the potential to develop the country and create jobs for the local people, especially those in rural communities.
He said Nchelenge had 11 permanent employees and about 100 casual workers who were engaged every farming season.