ZAFFICO PLANTATIONSNDOLA PLANTATIONS GROUP Ndola
Ndola Plantations Group is one of the four oldest Copperbelt based ZAFFICO PLC Plantations Group. It is also ZAFFICO PLC’s largest plantation group with a total net area of 17,577.82 hectares spread across 741 compartments. The Group has 90% of its tree plantations in the city of Ndola while 10% is in Luanshya district.
Pine and Eucalyptus are the main exotic commercial tree species grown by Ndola Plantations Group. Pine covers a total net area of 14,414.70 hectares equivalent to 82% of the total net area while Eucalyptus covers 2,353.9 hectares representing 13% of the total area. Gmelina is also grown and covers a total net area of 99.4. A total of 709.8 hectares has been clear felled and will be replanted during the 2021 replanting season.
The majority of the stands under Ndola Plantations are young stands below the age of 15 years that account for 87.3% of the net area and covers a net area of 15,344 hectares. The age class distribution is displayed in Table 1. The clear felled compartments account for 4% of the net area equivalent to 710 hectares.
In quest to meet the strategic vision of replanting all clear felled areas Ndola Plantation Group has two nurseries which are Dola Hill and Mishishi Nurseries. The Dola Hill nursery has a total area of 2.6ha and it has a capacity of 3,500,000 seedlings while Mishishi nursery has a total area of 1.2ha and a capacity of 2,500,000 seedlings. Only the Dola Hill Nursery is operation at the moment as it has the capacity to raise the required seedlings to meet the replanting target for the Group.
Pine and Eucalyptus are the main exotic commercial tree species grown by Ndola Plantations Group. Pine covers a total net area of 14,414.70 hectares equivalent to 82% of the total net area while Eucalyptus covers 2,353.9 hectares representing 13% of the total area. Gmelina is also grown and covers a total net area of 99.4. A total of 709.8 hectares has been clear felled and will be replanted during the 2021 replanting season.
The majority of the stands under Ndola Plantations are young stands below the age of 15 years that account for 87.3% of the net area and covers a net area of 15,344 hectares. The age class distribution is displayed in Table 1. The clear felled compartments account for 4% of the net area equivalent to 710 hectares.
In quest to meet the strategic vision of replanting all clear felled areas Ndola Plantation Group has two nurseries which are Dola Hill and Mishishi Nurseries. The Dola Hill nursery has a total area of 2.6ha and it has a capacity of 3,500,000 seedlings while Mishishi nursery has a total area of 1.2ha and a capacity of 2,500,000 seedlings. Only the Dola Hill Nursery is operation at the moment as it has the capacity to raise the required seedlings to meet the replanting target for the Group.
Current Operations
The station is currently undertaking manual and mechanical weeding, slashing, nursery operations, grading of firebreaks and fire control operations.
The Group creates over 3,000 direct and indirect jobs by contracting 266 small scale roundwood customers and one large scale roundwood customer who are involved in sawmilling and wood processing. The transport sector also benefits from the harvesting operations at Ndola plantations as roundwood customers contract transporters to ferry roundwood from the harvesting sites to sawmilling sites and from the sawmilling sites to various timber sales points. Roundwood and sawn timber from the Plantation is used at various stages of construction hence benefiting the sector. The carpentry and joinery is another sector benefiting as their raw material is processed from roundwood.
The Group creates over 3,000 direct and indirect jobs by contracting 266 small scale roundwood customers and one large scale roundwood customer who are involved in sawmilling and wood processing. The transport sector also benefits from the harvesting operations at Ndola plantations as roundwood customers contract transporters to ferry roundwood from the harvesting sites to sawmilling sites and from the sawmilling sites to various timber sales points. Roundwood and sawn timber from the Plantation is used at various stages of construction hence benefiting the sector. The carpentry and joinery is another sector benefiting as their raw material is processed from roundwood.
