FAO hails Malawi on climate investment plans

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has hailed the Government of Malawi for coming up with policy instruments to spur agricultural investments.

FAO deputy director general Maria-Helena Semedo made the remarks on Tuesday when she met Minister of Environment and Climate Change Management Halima Daud at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland on the sidelines on the UN Conference on Climate Change.

Semedo said Malawi has moved ahead with policy instruments, hence her organisational support.

“We are here to help. Tell us what you need. You already have plans and it will be the best way to appropriate what has already been done by the government,” she said.

During the meeting, Daud said government has developed various policy instruments where agriculture is highly featuring.

The policy instruments include the National Climate Change Policy, National Climate Change Investment Plan and National Adaptation Programmes of Action. Other works in progress are the development of national appropriate mitigation actions (Namas), National Adaptation Plans (NAP), which fall within the Green Economy.

Daud said the National Climate Change Investment Plan outlines Malawi’s areas of addressing climate change issues on adaptation, mitigation, technology transfer and capacity building.

“We believe this will support efforts to re-shape our policies and strategies towards

“We are now starting to develop the national work on addressing current and future vulnerability and identifying adaptation option in the sector,” she added. FAO is supporting various projects in the country including climate-smart agriculture and institutional support to national conservation agriculture task force.