Zambia looks into nuclear energy to save agriculture sector and economy

Zambia is in talks with Chinese nuclear power companies after entering load-shedding stages as the country grapples with devastating drought,

- Jeff Kapembwa.

Zambia is investigating the use of nuclear energy as a drastic measure to boost its agriculture sector and economy, which have been ravaged by the ongoing drought that is devastating that country.

Due to the drier than normal weather conditions, the Southern African state’s maize yields in excess of 1,1 million hectares were destroyed during the 2023/24 farming season, leaving the country in a state of food insecurity.

Zambia has appealed for humanitarian assistance, with many organisations and countries hearing its call. Power generation, with an installed capacity of 3 770MW, has been affected adversely, forcing Zambia to incur a power deficit in excess of 750MW, resulting in daily loadshedding of 12-hour periods, which has now caused the downscaling of irrigation farming activities.

Energy Minister Peter Kapala said some Chinese energy-producing companies had shown an interest in assisting Zambia to set up a 150 to 250MW nuclear plant to address the energy deficiencies in the country as water levels in Zambia’s main reservoirs had been depleted due to the lack of rain.