The installation of solar-powered milling plants in Zambia has brought benefits such as provision of affordable mealie-meal to communities living near the plants, an organization implementing the project said on Wednesday.

The Zambia Cooperative Federation (ZCF), which has been installing the milling plants based on solar-powered equipment purchased from China under a loan from the China Development Bank, said the residents have welcomed the project because it was enabling them to purchase cheaper mealie-meal.

"And we wish to extend our gratitude to the government of the People's Republic of China for this development because of the development effect that it will have on the people of Zambia," James Chirwa, the director-general of the ZCF said when Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Yang Youming visited one milling plant situated in Bauleni shanty compound, east of Lusaka, the country's capital.

Chirwa said the installation of the plants has enabled the residents to purchase cheaper mealie-meal which was half the price of the commodity from other sources, adding that the project will also allow small-scale farmers in rural areas to increase productivity because they will be assured of a ready market.

According to him, the project will also have far-reaching benefits such as an increase in incomes by small-scale farmers and value addition to their maize which will be processed into mealie-meal.

He further revealed that the organization intends to sink boreholes at each of the milling plants in order to give communities nearby clean drinking water while plans were also underway to put some pieces of land near the milling plants under irrigation in order to allow the communities to conduct their agricultural activities throughout the year instead of waiting for the rains.

On his part, the Chinese envoy welcomed the initiative, saying the use of solar energy was being promoted around the world because it has no side effects.

He said the project will be a success because Zambia has sufficient sunshine, adding that the project was of great benefit especially to people in rural areas.

The organization started installing the milling plants with solar-powered equipment in 2015 and so far about 250 plants have been built in various parts of the country. The country intends to install about 2,000 milling plants with such equipment by the end of next year.