World Vision Transfers Amapalo Milling Plant to Zambia Correctional Service
The government has announced that the Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS) has taken over the operation of the Amapalo Milling Plant in Mpika District from World Vision.
This transition is expected to benefit the local community by providing affordable mealie meal, creating jobs, enhancing business value chains, and facilitating skills transfer.
During the project’s commissioning on Wednesday, Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Jack Mwiimbu, highlighted that the Amapalo Milling Plant would unlock the agricultural and agribusiness potential in Mpika and Muchinga Province.
His speech, delivered by Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga, emphasized the project’s ambitious yet achievable vision.
Mr Mwiimbu noted that the initiative would increase the availability of affordable mealie meal, add value to maize through processing, packaging, and branding, and create sustainable market linkages.
The project is also set to reduce post-harvest losses through improved drying and storage technologies, thereby enhancing household food security and incomes.
ZCS Commissioner General, Fredrick Chilukutu, expressed excitement about the new venture, underscoring the plant’s role in providing cheaper mealie meal amidst ongoing drought challenges.
His remarks, read by Deputy Commissioner General Bwalya Kuyomba, called on businesses to collaborate with ZCS in distributing the mealie meal, which will be sold at a maximum price of K230 across Northern and Muchinga provinces.
Chief Chikwanda praised the project’s potential to boost food security in Mpika and surrounding areas, expressing confidence in ZCS’s capability to manage the milling plant effectively.
World Vision’s acting National Director, Faith Ngoza, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to partnering with the government to address various challenges.
She expressed delight in handing over the 15-tonne capacity plant, funded by Australian Aid through World Vision Australia, and highlighted the accompanying storage shed funded by World Vision USA.
