Omnia affirms readiness to meet fertiliser needs
By Fridah Zinyama
Wed 05 May 2010, 00:30 CAT
OMNIA Fertiliser Zambia Limited is well positioned to meet Zambia’s agricultural fertiliser needs, company general manager for the small-scale division Vincent Mkuyamba has said. Mkuyamba said the company had garnered a good reputation for itself, in that the company was able to meet its customer’s needs every time.
Mkuyamba said the company had over the years built good product lines and ensured that the company was well prepared at all times.
“In terms of our preparedness, at any given time we have about 30,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser in our depots here in Zambia, ready for distribution for the next farming season,” he said.
Mkuyamba added that the company could boast of good prices for their products and services which had ensured the continued loyalty of its customers.
“We offer competitive prices taking into consideration both internal and external factors which influence pricing, like the cost of raw materials and related logistics,” he said.
Omnia’s agriculture division produces granular, liquid and speciality fertilisers.
With its headquarters in South Africa, the Omnia Group has offices in Zambia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Malawi, with agents and distributors in most of the countries in the sub-region.
The business sells to over 25 countries worldwide.
Labels: FERTILIZER, OMNIA GROUP
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OMNIA defends FSP
Written by Ernest Chanda
Sunday, April 26, 2009 2:52:41 PM
OMNIA Fertiliser Zambia has defended the Fertiliser Support Programme (FSP), saying it has worked well so far in the country. And the parliamentary committee on land and agriculture on Friday sent back Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) management to redo their submission.
The committee, which was chaired by Kalomo UPND member of parliament Request Muntanga, was looking at the performance of the FSP.
Appearing before the committee, managing director Bertie Serfontein said the FSP worked better than the proposed voucher system.
"In our view, the FSP has so far worked well, although we know there have been some problems here and there. And we know people are talking of introducing the voucher system, but it would be better to work on the problems encountered in the FSP than start a new process. We are aware of the various problems encountered in the voucher system because we run a fertiliser programme in Malawi as well. And the voucher system has proved to have more problems than the Fertiliser Support Programme," Serfontein said. "I'm simply saying why do you stop a system that is already working and then start something else instead of improving on the already existing system? Starting from the scratch always brings problems. It's like changing your Zambian law from Roman law to English law. You will have to start all over again."
And Muntanga asked NCZ chief executive officer Richard Soko to resubmit a written and detailed survival plan for the company.
"This committee deals with written submissions, and when you talk about figures we want to see them on paper. This will help us argue with government on your behalf so that even if we say give NCZ K150 billion we shall have the figures to refer to. Remember you are competing against organisations which believe that you are only standing there doing nothing. Give us figures that will show how you can defend yourselves from these attacks. Show how you propose to produce fertiliser cheaper than your competitors and come back to us on the 5th of May," said Muntanga.
Labels: FERTILIZER, FSP, NCZ, OMNIA GROUP, PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, REQUEST MUNTANGA
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Omnia Group invests in jatropha agronomics research
By Fridah Zinyama
Saturday June 21, 2008 [04:00]
THE Omnia Group has made an investment of about K11.6 billion into research on jatropha agronomics in Zambia. Jatropha has been widely regarded as the 'next-best-thing' for biodiesel production as it is resistant to drought and pests and produces seeds containing up to about 40 per cent oil. Omnia Group chief executive officer Rod Humphris, told Engineering News Online, that it was an exciting investment, as it would help the company better understand the yields that can be attained from the Jatropha tree.
He added that there was a fertiliser spin-off, if jatropha becomes a bigger crop in the southern African region.
"We would be well-placed to really understand the nutrients required for that and then, obviously there is the fertiliser sale which we would be able to achieve in improving the jatropha economics," Humphris said.
"Omnia would continue to spend the necessary capital on research in this field on an ongoing basis."
The research will be conducted in Zambia for a number of reasons, and largely because it could not be done in South Africa because that country's government has declared jatropha an invasive plant.
"The one advantage that Zambia has, being a land-locked country is that import parity of fuel into Zambia certainly is more expensive than here in South Africa, and I think the driving force there to establish biofuel production is higher in Zambia than what it would be in South Africa," said Humphris.
And Humphris added that the "golden age for agriculture" had arrived and would continue into the next decade.
"The global shortage of raw materials in the agricultural sector drove the group's fertiliser producing division's operating profit up 98 per cent, to K122.3 billion for the year ended March 2008," he said.
Humphris said the improvements in this division had come largely from price increases, and not from volume increases.
"Omnia felt the production volumes would remain fairly constant going forward, as there was not much room for increased volumes in the South African market as there was only so much fertiliser required. Volume growth would benefit export markets.
Although that could change overnight if South Africa became more bullish with biofuels," added Humphris. "We have seen a complete shift in the agriculture sector over the last 12 months - suddenly the world appreciates agriculture."
Humphris said many of the factors driving the greater demand for raw materials were said to have taken place quite suddenly, particularly the emergence of biofuels.
Labels: BIOFUELS, JATROPHA, OMNIA GROUP
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