WONDERFUL GROUP GOES BIG

Group steps up fertiliser, energy and skills investments as it backs Zambia’s drive to grow more food and cut reliance on imports

By Francis Maingaila ♥️

Lusaka, Zambia24 — 01-10-2026 — Wonderful Group, through its component United Capital Fertilizer (UCF), is putting more money into fertiliser, energy and skills as it looks to play a bigger part in Zambia’s push to grow more food, create jobs and reduce the country’s dependence on imported inputs.

For a country whose farmers have often had to look outside its borders for fertiliser, the group says it wants to see more of what Zambia needs being produced at home.

Acting Board Chairperson Margaret Mudenda says the group is not prepared to sit back and wait for Zambia to hit its production targets before putting the necessary capacity in place.

She said Wonderful Group was already contributing to several of the Government’s targets, including agriculture, energy, mining and agro-processing, through its various subsidiaries.

“Our intention in opening the door to the media is to draw you in so that you can appreciate our investment, but not just the investment. The capacity that we have behind what we are celebrating today,” Ms Mudenda said.

She said UCF, which started operations about four years ago, had grown significantly as it worked to ensure that Zambian farmers could access fertiliser.

Ms Mudenda said UCF was one of the group’s key subsidiaries and that Wonderful Group would continue opening its operations to the media so that the public could see what was being built and how its businesses were contributing to Zambia’s economy.

She said the group’s investments were being aligned with Zambia’s ambitious production targets, including 10 million tonnes of maize, 10,000 megawatts of electricity, five million tourists, three million tonnes of copper and three million tonnes of soyabeans.

The targets also include one million tonnes each of wheat and sugar, as well as US$1 billion in beef exports.

Ms Mudenda said Wonderful Group had already touched on seven of the eight targets through its investments and partnerships.

She pointed to Zambia’s 4.9 million-tonne maize harvest as evidence that the country could do much more in agriculture.

“Why should we doubt ourselves as a country? We can’t,” Ms Mudenda said.

She challenged the media to look closely at how Zambia had moved from producing around one million tonnes of maize to 4.9 million tonnes.

“Start talking about 4.9 million. It is something that you should be making headlines every day and unpacking to find out what is happening. How have we got here?” she said.

Ms Mudenda said irrigation, financing, markets and reliable and affordable inputs would be crucial if the country was to keep the momentum and move towards the 10-million-tonne target.

She said Wonderful Group was therefore putting capacity in place now, rather than waiting for demand to rise before responding.

“We are investing to ensure that we can invest ahead for the demand that is coming,” she said.

Ms Mudenda said the company’s NPK and ammonium phosphate fertilisers were among the inputs supporting agricultural production, adding that the group was proud to be part of the higher yields being recorded by farmers.

She said Zambia did not necessarily have to wait until 2031 to see the 10-million-tonne maize target become a reality.

“We are saying, why wait until 2031? In 2027 or 2028, can we double this 4.9? Isn’t it possible?” she asked.

On energy, Ms Mudenda said Wonderful Group was already contributing to electricity generation through a plant with an installed capacity of 85 megawatts.

She said about 45 megawatts was being used internally, while the balance was being supplied to the national grid.

“We are already participating in energy, and we intend to grow. That’s our mission,” she said.

Ms Mudenda said the group was also working on partnerships that could contribute to Zambia’s three-million-tonne copper production target, although details could not yet be disclosed because discussions were still ongoing.

She said Wonderful Group’s immediate focus was to expand production and invest in its plants, particularly by increasing urea production.

Ms Mudenda said the planned expansion would add about 1.6 million tonnes of urea production capacity.

She said the investment made sense because Zambia could not seriously talk about producing more food without also having enough fertiliser available to farmers.

“At 4.9 million tonnes, if we double to 10 million tonnes, we need to produce fertiliser,” she said.

Ms Mudenda said the group wanted Zambia to produce enough fertiliser for its own farmers while building the capacity to supply neighbouring countries.

“The market is the region. The market is a continent and beyond the continent, so we are daring to think beyond that,” she said.

She said the group wanted to help turn Zambia into a major fertiliser production hub while cutting the country’s dependence on imported agricultural inputs.

“We dare to reduce the number of imports. I think for the longest time there have been a lot of imports, especially of inputs. So we dared to say we can do it locally, and we have done it,” Ms Mudenda said.

She said increased local production could eventually make imports less competitive as production costs came down.

“Once the prices drop naturally, imports will not be necessary because you won’t be able to compete without pricing. That’s our aim,” she said.

Ms Mudenda said the expansion would also create opportunities for Zambian professionals.

She said Wonderful Group had recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Copperbelt University to provide students with attachment opportunities and had identified potential employment opportunities for up to 400 chemical engineers.

“Our intention to grow big in Zambia is real, and to be able to do that, you need to do it with a long-term view,” she said.

Ms Mudenda said the group wanted to build Zambian skills, create jobs and make greater use of locally available raw materials.

“Build Zambian skills, create Zambian jobs using Zambian material,” she said.

She also urged the media to tell the story of the opportunities being created through investment and encourage Zambians to take part in the country’s economic transformation.

“This is where the media comes in. You have to sell this story so that the Zambians can see the opportunity, so that the Zambians can connect with what we are trying to do and begin to appreciate and benefit from our efforts,” she said.

Ms Mudenda said Wonderful Group would continue working with Government, farmers, financiers, researchers and other partners to make sure that fertiliser supplies and production capacity grew with the country’s needs.

“We are not waiting for Zambia to reach its targets. We have decided to build the capacity that is needed to support those targets. We are building that capacity now,” she said.

She said the group’s ambition was bigger than simply producing fertiliser, describing the investment as part of a wider effort to strengthen food production in Zambia and across the region.

“This is not about production. It’s about feeding Zambia. It’s about feeding the continent. It’s about feeding the region. Dare to think beyond the continent,” Ms Mudenda said.

She said Wonderful Group wanted to grow alongside Zambia and achieve the country’s targets together with Zambians.

“We truly believe we will reach it, and we want to reach it with the Zambians,” she said.

Wonderful Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer Roy Mwamba says the group expects fertiliser production to rise to between 650,000 and 700,000 metric tonnes this year, with about 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes earmarked for export markets.

Mwamba said the increase mattered because producing more fertiliser locally could reduce the amount of foreign exchange Zambia spends on imports, while exports could bring more foreign exchange into the country.

“This helps in the stability of our currency, and it's a pride not only for United Capital Fertilizer, but for the Wonderful Group as well, and also for our country,” he said.

He said Zambia was beginning to move beyond simply producing fertiliser for its own farmers, with the company already supplying countries such as Tanzania and preparing to serve other markets in the region.

Mwamba said the company had grown from about 240,000 metric tonnes of production in its first year to slightly more than 600,000 metric tonnes cumulatively last year.

He said production was expected to reach between 650,000 and 700,000 metric tonnes this year, comprising about 450,000 metric tonnes for the local market and between 250,000 and 300,000 metric tonnes for export.

The expansion is also expected to give Zambia greater capacity to produce fertiliser inputs locally.

Mwamba said the group was preparing for a US$1.5 billion expansion of its urea and ammonia plants, with a groundbreaking expected within the coming 90 days.

He said the planned expansion would include 520,000 metric tonnes of urea and 400,000 metric tonnes of ammonia, alongside other products that could support industrial production.

According to Mwamba, the expansion forms part of the group’s wider investment strategy after its approximately 2,000-hectare site was designated as an industrial park.

He said the industrial park status meant investments on the land would have to be progressively developed, including the expansion of urea and ammonia production.

Mwamba said the group was also looking at producing more of the raw materials available locally to bring down the cost of NPK fertiliser.

He explained that NPK fertiliser contains three major nutrients — nitrogen, phosphate and potash — while other formulations can include nutrients such as sulphur and zinc.

“In Zambia, predominantly, we use sulphur, about six percent of sulphur. Other countries also add zinc, and commercial farmers have other micronutrients,” he said.

Mwamba said the group was working to localise the production of some of the raw materials that are currently imported for NPK manufacturing.

He said planned phosphate production, together with locally produced nitrogen and other inputs, could replace between 62 and 72 percent of the raw materials currently required for NPK production.

“This means the input of raw materials is substituted, and that reduces the cost,” Mwamba said.

He said greater local production of raw materials would also help shield Zambia from some of the price swings on international markets.

“We have a strategy to ensure that we reduce the cost by ensuring that we localise the raw material production in Zambia through our natural resources,” he said.

Mwamba, however, said fertiliser prices would not automatically fall simply because production had increased, explaining that large industrial projects come with substantial financing costs.

He said the company had financing obligations on investments such as the urea plant, but that those liabilities were being reduced through repayments to financial institutions.

“As time goes by, our liabilities are reducing, and the benefit is passed on to the end user,” Mwamba said.

He said lower financing liabilities and increased local sourcing of raw materials could eventually contribute to more stable and predictable fertiliser prices.

Mwamba also linked the availability and quality of fertiliser to the fortunes of farmers.

He said farmers previously had to wait for imported fertiliser, with orders taking at least 90 days to arrive.

“With an LC to bring in fertiliser, a minimum of 90 days was required to have it around,” he said.

Mwamba said increased local production had shortened the supply chain and allowed the company to respond more quickly to demand from Zambia and neighbouring countries.

“We are ready for Malawi. We are ready for Tanzania. We are ready for Zambia, on time,” he said.

He said having fertiliser available at the right time, together with quality inputs, had contributed to improved crop performance.

Mwamba said the company’s growth from about 300,000 metric tonnes of NPK capacity to 800,000 metric tonnes, followed by the development of urea production, represented a major change in Zambia’s fertiliser industry.

He said the company would soon invite the media to the groundbreaking ceremony for the planned expansion and later for the commissioning of the NPK and urea facilities.

Mwamba also thanked the media for keeping the public informed about developments in the country’s agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

“We can come up with all these milestones that we have arrived at, but without the media, it doesn't go out there,” he said.

UCF Director Patrick Siampwili says United Capital Fertilizer has invested heavily in technology and production capacity over the past four years as it positions itself to support Zambia’s food-security agenda.

Siampwili said the company was ready to supply farmers during the 2026/2027 farming season, with production of key fertiliser products continuing at its plant.

He was speaking during a media open day at the UCF plant, where journalists were taken through the company’s production facilities and laboratories to see the technology and processes being used.

Siampwili said UCF’s investments were aimed at supporting the Government’s development agenda, particularly efforts to strengthen agriculture and food security.

“You cannot talk about the Zambia agenda without a discussion around food. So, this industry that you have visited speaks to food security. It is very, very important,” Siampwili said.

He said the company had deliberately maintained an open-door policy to allow farmers, commercial stakeholders and other key players to understand its operations while giving UCF an opportunity to hear directly from the market.

Siampwili said UCF held a similar engagement last year with farmers from various districts and commercial farmers, who were given an opportunity to visit the plant and understand its production processes.

He said the engagements had given farmers a chance to raise the challenges they faced and point out areas where the company could improve.

“Engagement is very important because it affords the cross-pollination of ideas. We put the challenges that the farmers face on the table. They spoke to areas where we need to improve, and they also validated our processes,” he said.

Siampwili said investment in technology was particularly important as Zambia sought to increase agricultural production and strengthen its ability to produce fertiliser locally.

He said UCF was currently producing about 800,000 metric tonnes of NPK fertiliser, about 300,000 metric tonnes of urea and approximately 100,000 metric tonnes of ammonia.

According to Siampwili, the company intends to move into the second phase of its investment programme, which will increase production capacity in both the NPK and urea production lines.

He said the expansion would further position UCF to contribute to the availability of fertiliser for farmers as the country works to produce more food.

Siampwili said the media open day was therefore more than a publicity exercise, but part of UCF’s wider engagement with stakeholders to show what the company had invested in and explain how its operations were contributing to Zambia’s agricultural sector.