Fourteen farmer groups across the country have received 15 tractors under the Agricultural Commercialisation (Agcom II) Programme being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at Capital Hill in Lilongwe on Thursday, Minister of Agriculture Roza Mbilizi said the tractors will play a vital role in transforming agriculture from traditional farming methods to modern, mechanised practices that support the country’s development agenda.
“We have made a major milestone in improving agricultural mechanisation. This is part of the government’s agenda because President Arthur Peter Mutharika has always emphasised the need for Malawi to move away from hand-hoeing,” she said.
Mbilizi said it was encouraging to see more women benefiting from the programme, noting that women make up the majority of farmers in the country. She urged more women to participate in farming, saying access to mechanised equipment would improve productivity and reduce the burden of manual labour.
“Most of the farmers we have today are women. Therefore, we are encouraging women to embrace farming, and government is doing everything possible to ensure they move away from hand-hoeing and adopt tractors and other simple implements suitable for rural women,” she said.
Agcom II national coordinator Ted Nankhumwa said the tractors are part of the programme’s broader goal of helping farmers become more competitive in local and international markets through commercialisation and mechanisation.
“In addition to commercialisation, we are emphasising mechanisation to reduce production costs and enable farmers to benefit from economies of scale. We operate in an open market and compete globally, so our farmers must be competitive. That is why we are empowering them to produce efficiently and lower production costs,” he said.
One of the beneficiaries, Jenini Chikwondwa of Anzanga Group, expressed gratitude for the support, saying the tractor would significantly improve the group’s farming operations and increase production.
“I am very happy because this will help us increase our sunflower production in Malingunde. We will also be able to acquire more land and expand production now that we have this tractor,” she said.
