Insects are yummy!

One of the most delicious traditional Zambian meals that I have ever tasted is that of the nshima (maize meal cake), the country’s staple, served with roasted or pan fried insects. One of the most common insects that are edible in Zambia are flying ants locally known as inswa. Caterpillars which we call finkubala, are also on the list of the most delicious and nutritious treats. Other delicious insects include mafulufute, shongonono (green grasshoppers), nyenje and chenje (cicadas). All these edible insects are seasonal and therefore have enabled people to tak advantage of what is provided in the natural environment. The edible insects are available either during the rainy season between November and April or during the dry season from May to October. One of the most anticipated seasons of the year in rural Zambia is that of the rainy season. After six months of cold, dry, and then finally scorching dry October heat, the first torrential rains are welcome in November. By this time of the year, most rural Zambians will have depleted over half of the stocks of crops that had been harvested and stored away in a nkhokwe traditional storage structure six months earlier. The rains are always a relief from the heat and constitute a strong symbolic renewal of life as people plant their crops for the new growing season. One of the most fascinating changes in the natural environment after the first rains is a sudden explosion of green vegetation and the emergence of myriad insects from their hibernation or seasonal synchronized hatching cycles. Among the thousands of insects that suddenly emerge after the first rains are several edible ones including the inswa (flying ants) and mafulufute. The inswa breed and establish large colonies in large anthills of the savannah that often dot the grasslands. The breeding cycle of the inswa is such that they come out of and fly in massive numbers during several nights after the first rains. Zambians who live near urban areas will often sell surplus caterpillars in the city markets at affordable prices particularly for the urban poor. The insects provide a very important source of food supplement especially for rural Zambians. The insects have been endorsed as a very important source of protein in the diet of Zambians. As described by Professor Mwizenge S. Tembo

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Welcome to the Voices of Our Future Applicants Group 2011 | World Pulse

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Barricks Gold Corporation Gets Zambian Governmnet Nod For Equinox Takeover

By Mutale Kapekele

The government has given Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada unconditional clearance to take over Equinox Minerals, the parent company of Lumwana Mines.

Originally the ZAMBIA Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (ZCCPC) approved the purchase of Lumwana Copper Mine by Barrick Gold Corp on condition that the mining giant honours the subsisting agreements that the Mines had entered into with the local smelter, local suppliers to the mine and other third line industries.
The ZCCPC also demanded that Barrick Gold Corp should ensure that no job loses occur as a result of the transaction.
The Commission further demanded that Barrick Gold Corporation will not buy the 2.2 per cent shares in Equinox held by Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines – Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH).

But in a statement yesterday Equinox confirmed that the government through ZCCPC has given unconditional clearance to Barrick Gold Corp.“Equinox acknowledges that Barrick has received Zambian clearance for the acquisition of Equinox. All regulatory approvals are now received. Barrick has received the unconditional approval of the Zambian Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for the proposed acquisition of the outstanding common shares of Equinox by way of takeover bid,”Equinox stated. “All required regulatory approvals for the offer have now been received and Equinox encourages shareholders to tender into the offer, which is open for acceptance until 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on June

1, 2011, unless the Offer is extended or withdrawn.”

On April 25, 2011, Equinox announced an agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation pursuant to which Barrick has agreed, subject to the terms of a support agreement, to make the Offer to purchase all outstanding common shares of Equinox by way of negotiated take-over bid at a price of C$8.15 per share in cash. Barrick subsequently commenced the offer on April 26, 2011.

The Equinox board of directors has unanimously recommended that their shareholders accept the offer, and deposit their

Shares under the offer.

Maize marketing in Zambia

Maize marketing in Zambia

So, Zambia has another bumper harvest!

The Minister of Agriculture Eustacio Kazonga has announced a three million metric tonnes 2010/2011 harvest.

Zambia consumes approximately one million metric tonnes annually and the rest is exported to Zimbabwe, Kenya, Congo DR and Namibia.

The Zambian government has promised to buy all the maize from small scale farmers at US$265 per metric tonnes. This is good for the farmers but what I find strange is the fact that Zambia will export the same maize bought at high cost from the farmers at US180 per tonne.

Even the riches country in the world could never be this generous. My question is where is the excess money going to come from?

As it is, Zambia is still paying back money it owed a consortium of banks for last year’s maize marketing season.

What is more irritating is that the government has introduced mealie meal subsidies which means millers in the country will get the maize at a subsidised price and yet the small farmer is hoping to sell the same maize at an economic price. Which miller will buy from the farmer when they could get a better deal from the government?

What the government does not realize is that they are killing the small scale farmers indirectly when they are supposed to be helping.

If the government was serious about growing the agriculture sector, the best they can do is to subsidise production and not the already too-rich-to-care millers.

This is a scandal!!!!!

The AGOA circus

The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act Forum will be held in Lusaka Zambia from June 6-10, 2011.05.18 The AGOA program was a good initiative but I think it has not lived up to its expectations.

First of all, if the United States wanted to assist Africa genuinely, I don’t think they will have complicated and impossible to meet Rules of Origin.

It is irritating for a producer to have to undergo at least 20 procedures before their product could be certified fit for the US market.

Come on Africans, we have market in our back yard; we have a bigger market in COMESA-EAC-SADC grant Free Trade Area (FTA).

 We don’t have to prove to anyone that our fish is from good and pollution free rivers, we don’t have to suffer humiliating questions about what type of grass our cattle grazes on.

We can trade with ourselves because we respect each other, no one should make us feel small or inferior.  Africa is powerful!!!