AGCOM-supported ACADES impresses World Bank

* This is a community founded initiative that is taking advantage of a small seed funding

* To create more value in form of more productivity, more products, more livelihoods and a very ambitious business plan

By Susan Hara, MANA

The success story of ACADES — an agricultural producer organisation that received financial support from the Agricultural Commercialisation (AGCOM) — has impressed a visiting World Bank delegation, led by Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde.

AGCOM is funded by the World Bank and Bjerde’s entourage was afforded a visit to ACADES in Mpingu, Traditional Authority (TA) M’bwatalika, in Lilongwe and she commended and expressed satisfaction on how ACADES has successfully implemented the matching grant.

Bjerde said she was impressed that with “the small grant” that ACADES received from World Bank, it is making huge impacts in the community, saying: “This is a community founded initiative that is taking advantage of a small seed funding to create more value in form of more productivity, more products, more livelihoods and a very ambitious business plan.

“This is very encouraging and if ACADES is going to maintain the same energy, drive, ambition and creativity, the Bank will definitely continue to support it.”

Accompanying her was Minister of Agriculture, Sam Kawale, who also applauded ACADES for the initiative that started with fresh graduates who did not wait for the government to employ them, but went straight to the farming business.

“These young entrepreneurs are now running a multi-million enterprise and they are not only able to support their families, but they are also transforming their community — this is the kind of youths we need for this country to develop.”

The Minister added that the concept has to be adopted and adapted in different communities so that more youths become self-reliant — while also disclosing that the program kicked off with a funding of US$90 million but now it will increase to US$250 million.

ACADES’ Chief Executive Officer, Hastings Nhlane said as a team, they have learnt a lot in the course of the project and will continue to nurture their ambitions as they intend to start processing 70% of their products in five years’ time.

Nhlane said they started with soya beans but now they have diversified to rice, popcorn and groundnuts with their membership spread in Lilongwe, Mchinji and Kasungu.

ACADES has a membership of 324 members (all youths) and has been in operation for six years.

In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February, President Lazarus Chakwera reported in Parliament that “it goes without saying that the country cannot transform the economy without revitalizing its primary sector of agriculture”, saying “this must go beyond social protection programmes like affordable inputs programme (AIP)”.

Thus he said that his administration is “pushing for agricultural mechanization, commercialization, and industrialization” — through Mega Farms concept.

He announced that the government has successfully embarked on the mega farms, which are aimed at establishing large production units for increased agricultural production.

“We have already established two mega farms in Chipoka in Salima and Nkopola in Mangochi with 200 hectares of maize currently under cultivation in Mangochi and 80 hectares of cotton under cultivation and production in Chipoka.

“Additionally, through AGCOM, we have also allocated US$6 million to Katunga Maseya Cooperative to invest in a mega sugarcane farm in Chikwawa. It is also worth mentioning that other entities such as the Malawi Prison Services and Malawi Defence Force have established their own mega farms.”

Speaking of agricultural commercialisation, the President said the government has been organizing farming communities into cooperatives and alliances that can grow crops at scale and add value for both local and international markets.

“Through AGCOM, we have successfully established 345 Productive Alliances throughout the country and made a total of US$23 million in investment through matching grants. Currently, the program is supporting over 74,000 farming households across the country including 43,880 women, 30,200 men, and 20,572 youth.

“In the past year alone, AGCOM increased value of gross sales by producer groups to US$18.5 million against a target of US$10 million. This is wealth creation at household level where it matters most.

“A critical part of our agricultural commercialization drive is the need for ambitious programmes to get us ready for the international markets we have been securing, such as the United Arab Emirates. The beginnings of this journey is the livestock infrastructure development project, which aims to construct 50 state-of-the-art livestock service centers.”—Additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express