Zambia: Zampalm expands crude palm oil production to meet local demand

ZAMPALM, a subsidiary of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), has expanded it’s crude palm oil production to meet the local demand. The firm has further increased it’s out grower scheme to 1,000 beneficiaries. Zampalm General Manager David Subakanya says so far the area planted by out growers in Kanchibiya district has doubled to 700 hectares over the past years. “We are expanding our out grower, and we are hoping that by the year 2025 expansion should go up to 5,000 hectares,” he says Mr Subakanya says the oil palm out grower Scheme aimed at increasing the domestic production of palm oil and it’s by- products through the inclusion of individual farmers was Commissioned in Kanchibiya in 2019 by President Edgar Chagwa Lungu. Zampalm itself has expanded it’s oil palm plantation to 3,700 hectares out of which 2000 hectares have manure palm trees which the company is harvesting 1.7 million metric tonnes of palm fruit per hectare in a year. Mr Subakanya says Zampalm has been ...