But the story is different for Noah Kaputula a diminutive talkative former miner of Senama area in Mansa District of Luapula Province. Mr. Kaputuls who retired in 1996 has had a stint at farming, psychosocial counseling and product marketing for SFH all aimed at making ends meet. But the 2013 advertisement by the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) of funding the processing of cassava in Mansa ignited his memories of using starch in the metallurgy department during his time in the Mines
Noah Kaputula
“As a former
miner in the metallurgy department we used to use starch during titration and I
thought that I should be processing cassava into starch. My main targeted buyers
were mines and during the processing of loan papers that is when I came to know
that starch can be used in so many things,” he says.
Starch is
produced from grain or root crops. It is mainly used as food, but is also
readily converted chemically, physically, and biologically into many useful
products to date, starch is used to produce such diverse products as food,
paper, textiles, adhesives, beverages, confectionery, pharmaceuticals, and
building materials. Cassava starch has many remarkable characteristics,
including high paste viscosity, high paste clarity, and high freeze-thaw
stability, which are advantageous to many industries.
Cassava tubers
Mr.
Kaputula pitched in his idea to CEEC and his K1,250,000 loan request was
approved as it met all the relevant requirements. He single handedly
superintended the construction works of his processing plant at a cost of over K700,000
under his company Tatwakakulabe General Contractors and
Civil Engineers with
the only expert advice he got being the architectural works from the equipment
suppliers from China.
The processing plant
Equipment costing around K500,000 is stored in a makeshift extension room of his house made of red mud-blocks distorting the outlook of his blue and white modern house in this peri-urban area. Its installation is awaiting the arrival of a Chinese engineer in two weeks time who is also expected to train the workforce and maintenance team.
“We are expecting an engineer from China to come and install the equipment and we will stay with him for 30 days during which he will also train operators and others to maintain it when he leaves the country” reveals Mr. Kaputula.
equipment store in a makeshift store room
With Luapula province being a home of cassava, Mr.
Kaputula is looking at engaging not less than 3,000 suppliers of cassava from
across the province and 25 full time employees to process 8 tons of cassava per
shit (8 hour period).
Already Mr. Kaputula has gone to the market working
on piling 10 tons of cassava for trials when the equipment is installed. He is
buying a 50kg bag of cassava for K70 if it is coming from outside Mansa and K60
for suppliers from within the district because they use their own transport.
The CEEC has been promoting the value chain cluster
in various remote areas of Zambia with a focus on sectors that the targeted
areas have a comparative advantage in.
“Here in Mansa we have supported over 20 projects in
the cassava value chain including small scale suppliers, transporters of
cassava and processors like Mr. Kaputula.
This is important because with this kind of investment we actually
develop the demand chain so that the demand of the product is commercialized,”
he says adding that “The significant of this particular investment is that it
ties in our policy at the commission of ensuring 90 percent of the projects are
in rural areas so that we bring modernization and industrialization.”
Mr. Mukumbuta projects the plant to earn Mr.
Kaputula US$1m dollars annually with prospects of further growth with time.
Zambia’s Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry
Margaret Mwanakatwe who has been in the forefront of promoting the development
of Small and Medium Enterprises notes that such ventures are key in opening up
the potential that rural areas have in contributing to the country’s social and
economic development.
Minister of Commerce Margaret Mwanakatwe
Mrs. Mwanakatwe took some time away from the inaugural
Luapula Expo to reiterate government’s commitment in supporting SME development
by commissioning the plant and calling on cassava growers in the province to
take hold of the opportunity by expanding their fields.
“This gives an opportunity for cassava farmers to expand their fields and earn more money and it is also a chance to further improve your living standards. This plant is in response to government’s diversification agenda,” says Mrs. Mwanakatwe.
Cassava farmers in Luapula Province
Luapula Province Minister Nixon Chilangwa who was
the main man behind the expo to open up invstement opportunities in the
province to the globe notes that the processing plant fits into his vision of a
better Luapula.
“What you’re doing here fits into the vision of a
better Luapula, we are not talking about a better Luapula in 10 years time, we
are saying within three years from today we need to see a change in the lives
of our people,” says the Minister.
Luapula Province Minister Nixon Cilangwa
Harry Kalaba who is Bahati Member of Parliament a
constituency in which the Cassava Starch Processing plant is based is happy
that the empowerment funds for CEEC are being equally spread across the
country.
“This goes to show that the money for CEEC is not
only for those in Lusaka and other urban areas but it is money spread across
the country for citizens who want to be part of Zambia’s growth triangle,” says
Mr. Kalaba.
The market for cassava in Luapula keeps expanding as
some many firms such as Agro Africa and multimillion dollar projects by Sunbird
Bio-Energy and Mahtani Group of Companies look at injecting US$20million
dollars in a Cassava processing plant in Chembe district.
For Mr. Kaputula his vision is big as he aims at
penetrating the international market and he has since convinced his son to quit
working in the mines and join him in building a multimillion dollar family
business which will outlive him.
