By HELEN ZULU –
REGITECH Soya Processing Industries Limited which has invested over K1million in the construction of a soya processing factory in Kasama District of Northern Province, is in the next two weeks expected to commence full production of soya chunks and cooking oil.
Regitech is a local Company specialised in agro processing services, general trading, value chain and business linkages and has the capacity to produce 400 litres of cooking oil per day and 250 kilogrammes of soya chunks per hour.
Company managing director Daniel Bwalya said the company had invested about K1.3 million in putting up a factory and purchasing equipments for the purpose of processing soya beans into soya chunks and cooking oil.
Mr Bwalya said the company was currently carrying out product development and perfecting the machinery to suit the production requirements.
He was speaking when a team of Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) officials visited the Company in Kasama on Saturday.
“We first applied for K500, 000 from CEEC for the construction of the factory and procurement of machinery and for meeting our working capital requirements but the money was not enough so we applied for more funding.
“So in total we were given about K1.334 million, currently we are working on product development and also working on the machine to see to it that it works according to our specifications, once we are done in two weeks or so we will have the product on the market,” Mr Bwalya said.
He said once the factory was fully operational, it would employ about 35 people and that the product would be sold under the brand name ‘Ituna Pride’.
Mr Bwalya said the company developed an out grower scheme with about  444 farmers who cultivated the soya beans last season.
Mr Bwalya said the company had since applied for a trade facility from the CEEC to help buy the soya beans from the farmers for it to be able to operate for a year.