Donors hail K910bn Shire Valley project
Development partners in the agriculture sector under the Donor Committee for Agriculture and Food Security (Dcafs) have hailed progress made on the Shire Valley Transformation Programme (SVTP) in Chikwawa District.
They expressed the sentiments during their visit at the weekend to appreciate the progress of the construction of a mega irrigation canal which will cover 43 370 hectares of smallholder-led commercial farms.
The donors said they were impressed with the good progress despite the effects of Cyclone Ana in January 2022 which affected infrastructure at the main canal.
The plan is to irrigate 904 hectares by the end of 2024 for 1 244 land owners, to mark the launch of mega irrigation in Malawi. On intake canal construction, 96 percent of the first six-kilometre stretch canal has been completed.
SVTP team leader from the World Bank Time Fatch said they are committed to harmonise financing of the programme to ensure value for money on the project.
He said: “All donors will consider co-financing SVTP, especially in strategic components such as land development so that crop production can start immediately after water flow in the canals is opened.”
In his remarks, Chikwawa district commissioner Nardin Kamba assured the donors that the district council is committed to supporting the project because it is a milestone in the economic development of the district.
He said: “The immediate gains from the project include employment creation and capacity building of farmer cooperatives which has triggered the commercialisation of farming as well as growing business opportunities.”
SVTP is jointly financed by the World Bank, African Development Bank, International Development Association, Fund for International Development, Global Environment Facility and the Malawi Government with a budget of about $519 million or about K910 billion ($234 million in phase one and $285 million in phase II).
The programme’s vision is to shift subsistence drought-prone smallholder farming to irrigated all-year-round commercial farming.
Twelve donor agencies under (Dcafs) joined the field visit including the the European Delegation, World Bank, UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, International Fund for Agricultural Development, German Embassy, Japanese Embassy, Flanders Government of Belgium, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Embassy of Ireland, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, UN World Food Programme and the International Food Policy Research Institute.
