ATS Agrochemicals 的技术开发农艺师 Kelvin Kalala 说，他在过去 20 年见证了非洲作物投入行业令人难以置信的增长，他认为这种趋势不会很快放缓。
ATS 是一家顺应这一增长浪潮的农业化学品分销商，总部位于赞比亚卢萨卡。该公司位于赞比亚的 10 个省和邻国刚果民主共和国，二十多年来一直提供从收获前到收获后产品的全面作物保护。
The company, which is currently the largest crop protection distributor in Zambia, has found success in providing an extensive distribution network and having the know-how that growers need to optimize their production. Furthermore, ATS Agrochemicals provides environmentally safe chemical products, frequent farmer training, workshops and field visits. Kalala says all of these things position ATS Agrochemicals well in the massive growth Africa’s crop input industry is experiencing.
“Zambia is a large emerging industry,” says Kalala. “Every household has at least a piece of land which they use for cultivation. Our goal at ATS Agrochemicals is to proudly serve and support farmers from sowing to harvest.”
As with all market growth, Kalala says he has also seen the competition in the agchem industry getting tougher. “Many other companies have come onto the market in the last 20 years,” he explains. Kalala says that growers have become more educated on the importance of the products as a result. “Our customers have changed from mainly commercial growers to growers of all sizes.”
This growth, he explains, is influenced mainly by the increase in agricultural productivity as a whole, which has propelled the demand for crop protection products. According to the World Bank, agriculture now employs 65% of the continent’s labor force and accounts for 32% of gross domestic product. World Bank also confirms that agricultural performance has been rapidly improving in Sub-Saharan Africa, moving from a 2.3% per year growth rate in the 1980s to a 3.8% rate from 2000 to 2005, accounting for the increased demand ATS has seen.
The company predicts not only success down the road, but also challenges. “There are a lot of myths about some products destroying the soils, glyphosate being one of them.” In addition, Kalala says that the illegal trading of products by unregistered distributors is a rampant issue in the both Zambia and the Democratic Republic Of Congo.
Kalala suggests that in order to combat these problems, potential investors should take a keen interest in raising awareness and educating farmers on the importance of the safe use of crop protection products. “It goes without saying that this area has huge potential,” he explains. “We’re meeting our target sales and see great growth on the horizon.” Listing herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and adjuvants as the products of most interest for him, Kalala states that the key to success for ATS Agrochemicals is to provide a true relationship based on integrity, product innovation and service delivery.
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