Malawi urged to develop seed sector through PPP

Malawi should move towards developing her seed sector by creating a strong Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the sector, a renowned professor in agriculture has advised.

Richard Mkandawire, who is also vice-president for the South Africa-based African Fertiliser and Agri-business Partnership (Afap), offered the tip at the weekend in Lilongwe on the sidelines of a Malawi Scaling Seeds and Technologies Partnership in Africa (SSTP) working meeting.

The meeting was organised by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid).

Mkandawire, who also sits on President Joyce Banda’s advisory committee on the economy, has also urged key players in the seed sector, namely seed manufacturers, seed agro-dealers and scientists, among others, to ensure a strong working relationship that should see increased production of new seed technologies.

“There is a great need for Malawi to mobilise more resources for enhancing PPPs in the seed sector as a driver of agriculture growth and productivity,” said Mkandawire.

The agriculture expert also asked Malawi to devise ways of financing local seed companies to increase production of new seed varieties.

He lamented that at the moment, most seed producers are grappling to finance for the production of new seed varieties due to the prevailing high lending rates among commercial banks.

But he commended the strides made so far in the seed sector, citing Chitedze Research Station and Icrisat as some key players who have been instrumental in increasing the production of certified seed.

“We are meeting here in Lilongwe to begin a process of identifying key interventions whether to support local seed companies, support fertiliser manufacturing companies or suppliers or indeed seed agro-dealers all over the country,” he said.

Overall, Mkandawire said Malawi is doing well in aligning its activities in the agriculture sector towards the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (Caadp), which is a collective framework for agriculture growth and productivity that originated in 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique after the heads of State and government meeting.

He cited the increased national budgetary allocation of about ten percent towards the agricultural sector as one of the strides undertaken by Malawi to be in tandem with Caadp stipulations.