KALEYA Small-holder Company Limited (KASCOL) of Mazabuka, Southern Province, has recorded a sugar cane production capacity increase of more than 250 tonnes for the just-ended year 2012, chief executive officer Rarma Varma has said.

The company increased its production capacity from the 2011 figures of 231, 521.02 to 253,483.1 tonnes last year.

The figure recorded last year is the second highest ever attained in the history of the small-holder sugar company KASCOL which was established to supply 200,000 tonnes of sugar cane to feed the Zambia Sugar factory annually.

Mr Varma said the recorded increase was as a result of scaled up cultivation and other expansion projects.

"Vertical expansion and improvement of cane production through replanting and good cane management, has enabled us to reach regular cane supply of at least 250,000 tonnes per season," he said.

He noted that the adoption of sustainable and internationally accepted agricultural practices in both input and resource allocation, had been the other contributor to the increase and positive growth.

Mr Varma attributed the other contributors as the introduction of new varieties and techniques to ensure high quality cane was supplied to Zambia Sugar.

Despite the increase in production, the firm was faced with challenges among them, irrigation deficit and water conveyance problems.

He said the company's total annual cane production is between 200,000 and 259,000 tonnes per annum.