In pictures: £38m Zambian farms up for sale
Two huge farms in Zambia are for sale with a combined price tag of $50m (£38.66m).
Sinazongwe and Chiawa farms in the southern Zambezi Valley total more than 26,500 acres, of which nearly 10,000 acres are farmable and used for irrigated arable cropping.
An incoming buyer could extend the farmed area by a further 2,600 acres to satisfy growing demand for grain and soy in the country.
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The farms are being sold together or separately by Zambeef, one of the largest food producers in Zambia, which says it will inject proceeds from the sale into another of its farming operations.
The farms are part of a prime grain enterprise that operates a double-cropping rotation of winter wheat or maize with summer soya or maize.
There is bulk storage for 10,000t of grain on both farms and the sites each have a 25t/hour dryer.
Tanya Ware, director at Knight Frank, which is the selling agent, said the two operations are highly commercial with first-class machinery and excellent access to water.
“From the UK, we would expect an investment-fund type to be interested in a commercial business like this,” she told Farmers Weekly.
Zambia is one of the the fastest-growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, but only a small percentage of the country’s land is cultivated.
Chiawa Farm $28m (£21.65m)
- 20,285 acres at the convergence of the Kafue and Zambezi Rivers
- 5,325 acres of fully developed, irrigated arable land
- Potential to extend irrigated land by 2,600 acres
- Soya, maize and lucerne grown in double-cropping rotation
- Secure water rights from the rivers
- 10,000t bulk grain store and machinery buildings
- One of the largest farms in Zambia
Sinazongwe Farm $22m (£17.01m)
- 6,300 acres on the shores of Lake Kariba
- 4,477 acres of fully developed and irrigated arable land
- State-of-the-art centre-pivot irrigation system
- Grain storage silos, workshops and machinery sheds
- Double-cropped rotation of soya, maize and Rhodes grass in the summer, wheat and maize in the winter
- Fishing lake, chalets and campsite