Chakwera launches mega farms initiative

 Malawi has moved to sink 63 000 hectares (ha) under irrigation and unveiled plans to mechanise farming through One-Stop Private Sector Mega Farms initiative that will see 844 medium and large-scale farmers being supported in commercial farming.

Under the scheme, the farmers are expected to grow crops for selected priority value chains to boost agriculture output in the country.

Launching the initiative in Kanengo, Lilongwe yesterday, President Lazarus Chakwera said the approach is a positive course that puts the nation on the path to national prosperity in collaboration with the private sector.

He described the initiative as a game-changer for the country’s economy as most of the country’s foreign exchange revenue comes from agricultural commodities.

“Given the forex challenge we have faced in the recent past, it is clear that our long-term solution has to involve boosting and diversifying agriculture productivity for export,” said Chakwera.

Among others, the initiative, which is one of the Tonse Alliance administration’s flagship campaign promises, seeks to facilitate the striking of deals and contracts in areas of financing, off-taking, tractor hiring, irrigation facilities provision, fertiliser and inoculant suppliers, certified seed suppliers and farm business plan development consultants.

The President said: “We remain subscribed to the core mission of positioning the agriculture sector as a catalyst of sustainable development together with tourism and mining as captured within the Malawi 2063 Implementation Plan 1.”

Chakwera further called for coordination between the government in terms of policies and the private sector in terms of resources and skills, human and land resources to make the initiative a success.

Agriculture Extension and Technical Services controller Dr. Alfred Mwenifumbo, who is responsible for private sector mega farms programme implementation strategy, called for more financial support from the . government and partners to achieve success

He said through the programme, Malawi has successfully secured markets for key agricultural products, including tobacco, maize, soya and goats in countries such as China and India.

Said Mwenifumbo: “Malawi is currently at 3.7 million metric tonnes in terms of maize, hardly enough to feed the nation. Come 2030, we want to hit close to 10 million metric tonnes.

“To earn more forex, we intend to export soya to China, we have a huge market for soya and China wants us to supply them with 10 000 metric tonnes of tobacco. India has asked for any quantity of pigeon peas, and avocado pears.

In terms of livestock, Mwenifumbo said Malawi has close to 13 million goats, making the country number five in goat production in Africa.

He said there is a huge market in the Middle East and China for goats.

“In fact, we can comfortably

export up to 4 000 goats per month, and that’s a lot of forex coming in, we need to capitalise on that,” said Mwenifumbo.

Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola Banda described the private sector as the engine for economic growth, but bemoaned that the country is failing to utilise its resources well which leads to low agricultural productivity.

Ronald Ngwira, managing director at Pyxus Agriculture Limited, one of the partners in the initiative, hopes that the launch will stir up medium and large-scale farmers to start contributing to the productive space in the country.

“We need the medium and large-scale farmers to create the much-needed jobs, to generate the much-needed forex and commerce, expand the tax base and unlock the potential,” he said.

Partners in the initiative include the Ministry of Agriculture, Mahindra, Seed-Co, Farmers World, FDH Bank plc, NBS Bank plc, National Bank of Malawi plc, Fertiliser Association, Cotton Council of Malawi, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Agriculture Commercialisation, Admarc and Pyxus Agriculture Limited.

During the launch, Chakwera disclosed that he is also scheduled to launch another Mega Farm initiative for the North in Nkhata Bay next week before launching another one in Chikwawa for the Southern Region.