Japan says Malawi can feed itself
Japanese Ambassador to Malawi Shuichiro Nishioka says Malawi has a potential to feed itself if it adopts innovative and sustainable measures of producing food and other products on a large scale.
Nishioka said this on Friday at Chilanga Primary School ground in the area of Senior Chief Kuntumanji in Zomba when his government through the Millennium Promise Japan (MPJ) donated recovery food items to 1 370 households that were affected with floods and dry spells early this year.
In an interview, Nishioka said the process of recovery and rebuilding from disaster usually takes a long time saying Japan is still in the process of rebuilding from the earthquake and tsunami disasters that hit the country four years ago. He said Malawi’s disasters victims despite moving from camps still need relief to recover holistically.
However, the ambassador expressed delight that the food items that were distributed to the villagers were purchased locally.
“All these items being distributed here were procured from the local communities and we are certain that if government and other stakeholders maximise production of these items then Malawi’s economy and food security could definitely transform overnight,” he said.
On her part, director for disaster response and recovery, Scholastica Chidyaonga, commended the Japanese Government for the donation and urged other partners to follow suit as some flood-affected households still need assistance.
