ETG is one of the world’s fastest growing agricultural commodity traders, and the largest role player in the fertiliser industry in Zambia. At their extensive stand at Agritech it was business as usual for staff and customers.

In the ETG tent on the Agritech terrain the seats were constantly filled to capacity with people hungry for information. ETG management used the opportunity to train their own staff members as well as the small-scale farmers flocking to the familiar ETG symbol.

“We invest heavily in our employees, because these are the people who represent ETG on grassroots level,” explains Rajendran Ganapathi, Managing Director.

This level of representation is very important to the company, because it sets them apart from all the rest. ETG’s footprint in Zambia takes them across all four main regions they have identified, to their depots in every major town and container shops in all the spots where small-scale farmers are active.

Rajendran says: “We value our distribution network as part of the core of our business. Farmers can find our products in their own communities, they do not even have to travel to town to get it.”

Every shop has also been provided with a point of sale machine. This means that every farmer that is registered with the Ministry of Agriculture under the Farm Input Subsidy Programme can walk in with their E-Voucher visa cards, swipe for the products of their choice, collect their purchased items immediately and head back to their work with no delays. With the wide range of products also comes information on how to use it, taking into account the different soil types and crops. Rogenden says they get down to the communities, gathering the local farmers together to explain to them how to use the crop production products and fertilisers to improve their yields and also how to handle everything safely.

ETG distributes products from Falcon, Zamfert and Kynoch. The company further specialises in blended fertilisers which incorporate nine vital nutrients for most soil types. Organic content is also added to its fertilisers to assist in restoring and maintaining micro-organism populations and improving soil structure.

At Agritech, representatives of the company fully used the opportunity to interact with staff, clients and other companies.

For more information on ETG’s products and services, visit www.etgworld.com.

Interesting facts:

ETG is a one-stop shop for farmers, supplying all their farming inputs such as seeds, agro-chemicals, fertilisers and agronomic services, while purchasing their agricultural outputs. ETG moves an approximate five million metric tonnes of agricultural commodities around the world and directly employs more than 7 000 people globally.

Mbita Kabalika Mpongwe explains to prospective farmers how ETG can help them with production and also buy the surplus crop they produce.

ETG had a strong team at Agritech. The company not only provides fertilisers, but also products needed for seedling production, such as coco fibre as growth medium.

In the ETG tent staff members as well as farmers could sharpen their skills with training provided by agronomists.