FWIW14 Apr 2018 16:30
Just back from a week in Zambia, catching up with old farming friends, The FMD is quite concerning and farmers are taking their own measures by sanitising all vehicles and persons entering farms, there appears to be no government support as it was Lungu himself who caused the outbreak, by gifting two buffallo to Botswana that were infected, rather than culling them, they were shipped back to Zambia. Something like that anyway, I was a bit p'ssd when this story was being relayed. Farmers are obviously concerned and prices are crashing, only yesterday I watched a load of cattle go off to market and my friend was not expecting to get much for them, but better to sell them now than risk infection.
Cholera is pretty much under control, thanks too the government evicting 1000's from Kamwala market in Lusaka where it apparently originated from.But it may not be the end of it, the amount of new building going on, in and around Lusaka and the unregulated waste drainage that in some instances doesn't go anywhere, except into the water table, which of course is the same place the borehole drinking water comes from. On a positive note however there is surprisingly is very little malaria around. But hey it's Africa, if the little bitey b'stards don't get you, there's always another nasty that will.
BTW, I'm not invested here anymore, but the co I used to be GM of, bought a farm from Karl Irwin and Francis Grogan in the early days Zambeef, and my kids went to school with Tony Irwin,( Karls brother), who owns Proflight, now Zambias biggest airline. Amazing how things have changed in the last 20 years.
It was funny, I was walking through Lusaka airport and I heard someone calling my name, initially I thought I'd dropped my passport or something, but it was zambian local, who worked for me all those years ago... and he still recognised me. Wonderful place and people.
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