Chakwera arriving at his Capital Hill offices
* We will have investors specifically the financing institutions such as banks
* Who will tell us what services they have to help Malawians to invest in the agriculture sector—Minister Kawale
By Sella Singini, MANA
President Lazarus Chakwera on Tuesday held several engagements including meeting ministers responsible for Agriculture, Tourism and Mining (ATM) ahead of ATM strategy promotion week scheduled from Friday, April 19-27 April at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.
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In an interview with the media after meeting president Chakwera, Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale said the three ATM ministers had an audience meeting with the President at his Capitall Hill office to brief him on the preparations of the ATM promotion week — that has been crafted to show Malawians and investors from outside the country the opportunities that are there in areas of agriculture, tourism and mining.
He added that these are the areas of investment opportunity that President Chakwera is spearheading because of its higher opportunities to transform the country in the short, medium and long term.
“Specifically, for the Ministry of Agriculture, we will start on April 19-20 and our focus is to bring together different investors and stakeholders,” he said. “We will have investors specifically the financing institutions such as banks who will tell us what services they have to help Malawians to invest in the agriculture sector.
“We will also have fertilizer suppliers, seed suppliers, tractor suppliers and among others. We will provide several rooms where different negotiations and deals will be struck for people to go into production. Specifically, we are focusing on irrigation as a way to help us increase production but also to be resilient to climate change shocks.”
Minister Kawale
Kawale further said there will be also displays from his Ministry where different departments, agencies and companies under the ministry will tell Malawians what services they are providing.
“An interesting part will be the department of research where it will show Malawians what new seeds are available and what fertilizers are available that will make farming cheaper and also have high yield,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kawale has emphasised that the Ministry, through its Mega Farm Support Unit, will continue supporting farmers in the country as they work towards achieving the MW2063 national vision through increasing productivity and mechanisation to create jobs and generate forex.
This was on the same Tuesday after visiting a 200-hectare farm belonging to Lefulosi Chigamula, one of the beneficiaries of the Mega Farm Support Unit initiative and Kawale said the Ministry has been helping 197 commercial farmers across the country with farm inputs — such as seeds and fertilizer to ensure maximum productivity and encourage the adoption of mechanisation among mega farmers.
He also disclosed that in addition to financial support, the Ministry has connected farmers with off-takers such as the National Food Reserve Agency, Paramount Holdings, Pyxus Limited Export Trading Group and the National Smallholders Association of Malawi.
“These have committed to support farmers by purchasing their produce,” he said. “Government will also provide Mega farmers with tractors and also assist subsistence farmers in becoming commercial farmers.”
He then reassured farmers who would not be included in the 2024 affordable input programme (AIP) that they would be accommodated in the K650-billion Agriculture Commercialisation (AGCOM) project, Mega Farm Support Unit and National Economic Empowerment Fund initiatives (NEEF).
In his remarks, Controller of Agriculture Extension & Technical Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Alfred Mwenifumbo said through the initiatives, the unit has supported 197 maize farmers with a total of 10,000 hectares and they are expecting to harvest 35,000 metric tonnes.
One of the beneficiaries, Lefunosi Chigamula commended the Ministry of Agriculture for supporting mega farmers and has since urged farmers to take the initiatives seriously if they are to benefit.
He said despite facing numerous challenges due to persistent rainfall, he was optimistic of a bumper harvest.—Additionaly reporting by Gift Chiponde, MANA
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