By CHATULA KANGALI –
CONSTRUCTION of a K90, 000 cassava and mango processing plant in Mpulungu District in Northern Province has been completed.
District Commissioner Dennis Sikazwe said in an interview yesterday that the plant was expected to create 1, 000 jobs for the locals and to change the economic status of the area.
He said the district was currently waiting for funding from the Government to procure equipment for processing mango into juice and cassava into meal.
Mr Sikazwe said the project was funded by the Government through the ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry.
The plant would have capacity to process 700 x 20 kilogramme bags of cassava meal and 1, 000 x 500 millilitres of mango juice per day.
“Works at the plant have been completed, we are currently waiting for Government to give us funds to buy the machinery needed,” he said.
Mpulungu District has a lot of mangoes which go to waste, and the construction of the processing plant would add value to the fruit.
Mr Sikazwe said the Government was encouraging farmers in the area to grow more cassava for processing at the plant.
“We want farmers to grow more cassava which they will be selling to the plant for processing. Government, through the ministry of Agriculture, is currently giving out cassava inputs to farmers in the area,” he said.
Mr Sikazwe called on the private sector to consider investing in value-addition industries in the area  which was endowed with a lot of natural resources.