The Pannar Group’s new seed conditioning plant in Zambia was officially opened by the Zambian Minister of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Ben Kapita, in Lusaka on 17 October.
Minister Kapita said: “This government has identified agriculture as one of the engines to drive the economic growth of our country… Our role is to provide an enabling environment for private sector players to do business. I wish to assure stakeholders in the seed sector of my ministry’s support to enhance further growth…”
The MD Pannar Seed (Zambia), William Rutherford-Smith, is excited about the expanding opportunities in neighbouring countries, where demand for improved seed cultivars is growing rapidly.
The Pannar Group has been involved in the Zambian crop seed industry for more than 25 years and in 1999 established Pannar Seed (Zambia) Ltd. The seed group has taken their involvement one step further with the construction of the new seed conditioning plant.
Zambia is an ideal location for such a facility due to the favourable growing climate for seed production and the very high standard maintained by the Zambian seed growers. Pannar has replicated a conditioning unit from South Africa which will enable the company to condition seed to the same specifications as any seed that is exported from South Africa. Foundation work has been done in Angola and the DRC to expose customers to the potential that Zambia has to offer with regard to improved varieties. Work is also being done to strengthen seed relationships with Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and South Africa.
