UPND MANIFESTO ACTUALISATION: US$1 BILLION IN BEEF EXPORTS WITH THE 2027 BUDGET AS AN ANCHOR
One of the transformational targets in the UPND manifesto is to position Zambia to achieve US$1 billion worth of beef exports annually. What does US$1 billion in beef exports actually mean for the ordinary Zambian?
It starts with the cattle farmer. Zambia will need more cattle, better breeds, improved animal health, reliable water, increased fodder production, stronger veterinary services and effective disease control. Small scale farmers must increasingly become commercial producers connected to national and international markets, but the opportunity goes far beyond cattle farming.
A billion dollar beef industry requires modern abattoirs, meat processing plants, cold rooms, refrigerated transport, laboratories, packaging facilities, warehouses and export logistics. Each stage creates another layer of businesses and jobs.
There is also ready technology for mobile abattoirs (I have access to this Israeli technology). Properly regulated mobile and modular slaughter facilities can take processing closer to livestock producing areas, reducing the distances farmers must move animals while opening opportunities for rural processing and enterprise.
Then there are the industries around the animal itself. Hides can support leather manufacturing. By products can support animal feed, fertiliser and other industries. Zambia will extract maximum value from every animal instead of exporting economic opportunities that could remain here at home.
At an illustrative export value of around US$4 to US$6 per kilogram, achieving US$1 billion would represent approximately 167,000 to 250,000 tonnes of beef exports annually. My indicative modelling suggests that, as the entire value chain develops, a US$1 billion beef export industry could potentially support approximately 75,000 to 150,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs.
These jobs would extend from livestock farming and feed production to veterinary services, breeding, abattoirs, meat processing, packaging, refrigeration, transport, leather production and export logistics, and importantly, US$1 billion in beef exports means US$1 billion in export earnings. Zambia would be earning more foreign exchange from agriculture while diversifying the economy beyond its traditional dependence on copper.
This is why the 2027 National Budget will be the anchor budget for accelerated implementation of the UPND manifesto. The budget will begin to translate these targets into the infrastructure and productive capacity required on the ground, disease control programmes, veterinary services, livestock breeding, water infrastructure, feed production, livestock financing, abattoirs, cold chain systems, certification and access to export markets.
President Hakainde Hichilema will work with a team of visionary, competent and committed Zambians, especially young people and women to accelerate the birth of a new Zambia. President Hichilema is passionate about creating opportunities for young people and women. The livestock value chain provides precisely that opportunity for young farmers, veterinary professionals, transporters, processors, engineers, food scientists, entrepreneurs and exporters participating in an entirely new scale of agricultural industrialisation.
It may be difficult today to visualise the Zambia that these targets can produce, but national transformation begins by laying foundations and then systematically building upon them. The foundation that has been laid must now translate into production, factories, exports, jobs and rising household incomes.
Imagine thousands of cattle farmers supplying organised markets; young Zambians operating refrigerated trucks; women running meat processing enterprises; engineers maintaining cold storage facilities; entrepreneurs manufacturing packaging; and Zambian beef reaching markets across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and beyond.
Zambia has the land. Zambia has the livestock tradition. Zambia has the people. Now we must build the value chain, productive capacity and export infrastructure. The objective is to make Zambia a major hub for beef production and exports.
A golden era is just on the horizon in Zambia.
Saviour Chishimba
President
United Progressive People (UPP)
UPND Alliance Partner