(Lusaka Times) Sunbird Bioenergy Zambia in Kawambwa district in Luapula Province has disclosed that the company is scheduled to have its first-ever ethanol produced from cassava feedstock, blended with petrol, in August this year.
Sunbird Bioenergy Energy Zambia Agriculture Director Mark Muchinga says the company will have its first ethanol blend, done by Indeni Petroleum Refinery in Ndola, as a trial.
Mr Muchinga told Luapula Province Minister Derrick Chilundika, during a tour of the company fields that the ethanol that will be blended into petrol is expected to reduce the country’s fuel imports by 10 per cent.
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So far we have done a nursery of up to 1,200 hectares, the nursery is the one where we get the planting materials that we give to our out-growers and we have already registered over 5000 out-growers, with most of them harvesting their crop in the next few weeks,” he said.
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Mr. Chilundika further urged the company, to employ local people as they are incrementing in order to empower them.
“We have made it very clear as a government that priority should be given to the locals in terms of jobs and any other thing that might come including supplies, we believe this is one way of empowering the locals,” he emphasised.
Mr. Chilundika further encouraged the company to ensure that they provide protective gear to the employees that have been employed to work in the fields. READ MORE