Chinese firm to set up tractor assembly plant in Zambia

A Chinese manufacturing firm is to set up a tractor assembly plant in Zambia to serve the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.

Benye Tractor Corporation mainly specialises in 20 to 80 horsepower tractors.

S.K. Agri Supplies Limited 'Zambia) board chairman, Sebastian Kopulande said, “In the near future, the Benye Tractor will be assembled in Zambia to serve the SADC region.” S.K. Agri Supplies is the exclusive franchise of the products of Benye Tractor Corporation.

Kopulande was speaking during the official launch of S.K Agri Supplies Limited at the 81st Agricultural and Commercial Show in Lusaka. The partnership between S.K Agri Supplies Limited and Benye Tractor Corporation had been facilitated with lease finance from Stanbic Bank Zambia Limited.

Kopulande, who is also chairperson of the Zambia-China Business Association, said the co-operative movement was the anchor of the future of agriculture in Zambia and therefore needed support from both the private sector and Government.

Agriculture minister Ben Kapita said there was need for the private sector in the country to provide small and affordable tractors and other farming equipment to small-scale farmers. “Farmers are tired of tilling the land by hoe. The hand hoe is not only strenuous, but very limiting in terms of expansion of hectarage under cultivation. It is my hope that companies such as S.K Agri will play a leading role in supplying small but affordable tractors to small scale farmers,” he said.

S.K Agri would also supply irrigation, agro processing, and power generation equipment, as well as farm transport and forklifts, motorcycles and bicycles.

Zambia Daily Mail