Zambia-Egypt in joint fruit project

Among the fruit crops being piloted are Citrus fruit trees such as mandeline and mangoes which came from Egypt.
Egyptian Ambassador to Zambia Salah Abdel Sadeq said last year that his government procured 6000 plants of mango which had been planted at Mwembeshi Open Air Prison.
“If the project becomes successful, it will result in a lot of benefits for the country. There is hope that the plants would acclimatise with the condition of the Zambian soil,” Mr Sadeq.
Egypt provided the seedlings, machinery such as tractors and technical support, while Zambia contributed labour and land.
He said the mangoes from Egypt took less than two years to start producing fruits and that they produced a lot of fluids compared to the local mangoes.
Speaking in an interview in Lusaka, Mr Sadeq said after the project became successful, the two countries would consider coming up with the juice industry which would result in employment creation.
He said Egypt and Zambia needed a lot of economic cooperation in many areas of the economy in terms of knowledge and expertise exchange.
Mr Sadeq said the country was endowed with fertile soil which if properly utilised could result in creating a lot of opportunities as well as poverty reduction.
He said the Zambian Government was trying to improve the living standards of the people, hence the creation of the new horizon for more business partnerships