A Solwezi-based entrepreneur has taken up a rare business of rearing ducks to supply Chinese nationals in Zambia who fancy the local delicacy.

Edgar Mutanuka, 32, said last June he supplied a number of ducks to Chinese nationals operating at a local firm, with each bird going for K150 and he had made good profit.

He said the price of domesticated amphibian birds had gone up to K250, which inspired him to invest in them to satisfy cravings of the Chinese in the district.

Mutanuka explained during a Kansanshi Mining Plc-sponsored mentorship visit by Fortune World Investments (FWI) that the duck-rearing business was very profitable and cost-effective as they fed on their own.

“I have a ready market for ducks, which I have been rearing since 2017. I now have 25 ducks and 22 ducklings; by June, they might multiply to 100. I came up with that idea considering the Chinese investment in the country. The Chinese are more interested in ducks,” Mutanuka observed.

He said most of the other locals were not interested in rearing ducks.

“Culturally, ducks were considered dirty birds that feed on rubbish. Local people say ducks with their shape and broad webbed-feet are not appetising and people avoid them,” he said.

But Mutanuka said he was taking advantage of that lack of interest from other to explore the business opportunity and become a pioneer in commercial duck rearing.

He explained that the Chinese community could consume as many as 1,000 ducks every month because their meat was rich in protein than broiler chickens.

“It’s very easy to run poultry business for ducks. It takes five to six months for them to mature and be ready for market. I’m targeting to have about 1,000 ducks per month from August this year,” said Mutanuka.

And FWI managing director Mukumbi Kafuta said the Zambian population needed to be educated on the varieties of food.

He said Mutanuka should conduct market research for his business and create a clean environment for duck-rearing so that people’s perception about ducks could be changed.

Kafuta advised him to formalise his business and investigate on the food supplement for ducks so that they could grow bigger and healthier.

He said if conducted well the duck business had potential to flourish within a short period because of good profit margins.

– Story courtesy of SUMA SYSTEMS.