Zambia’s abundant supply of copper and other raw materials has made it one of the chief African beneficiaries of the commodities boom. But it is not just copper that will fuel economic growth in the next year. The soaring prices of staple foods, combined with a bumper harvest in 2007 will guarantee that Zambia’s economy remains in good health in the medium term.
As finance ministers across Africa search for answers to the galloping inflation affecting food prices, Zambia’s minister of finance, Ng’andu Magande, has a right to feel smug. “Luckily for us, we are not affected by the global food crisis. We have been self-sufficient in food for the last three or four years now – ever since President [Levy] Mwanawasa introduced a programme of supporting small-scale farmers with subsidised fertiliser,” Mr Magande says.
