Malawi dedicates MDG award to farmers
Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Allan Chiyembekeza has dedicated the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) award to smallholder farmers, saying they are the one driving the economy.
Speaking during the 39th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Conference held in Rome, Italy recently, Chiyembekeza said smallholder farmers form part of the workforce currently employed in the agriculture sector and derive their livelihood from farming.
Malawi has been awarded the MDG One Award for eliminating extreme poverty courtesy of the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp).
In a statement made available to The Nation, Chiyembekeza said: “These [smallholder] farmers are operating under very difficult circumstances. They are constrained in terms of resources to help them take up improved technologies, the soils they are working on are degraded and they face negative consequences of climate change.”
Speaking on the theme Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty and Hunger by Strengthening Rural Resilience: Social Protection and Sustainable Agricultural Development, Chiyembekeza said Malawi’s success story in the fight against hunger is strongly linked to increasing access to improved technologies by our smallholder farmers.
Malawi introduced Fisp in 2005 against resistance from development partners. Since its launch, the country has been recording maize surpluses except in years when natural disasters such as floods and drought have washed away the gains.
MDGs are eight international development goals that were established following their adoption by world leaders at the United Nations Summit in 2000 to halve world poverty, improve access to education, health and water, among others, by 2015.
