Minister of Trade and Industry Engineer Vitumbiko Mumba says Malawi is not producing enough bananas to meet the country’s demand.
He said this on Friday during the opening of the one-day Banana Growers Conference, a platform to understand the challenges that farmers and traders face in banana production.
Said Mumba: “We have not been able to produce enough to feed our country.
“That is why we have bananas that come into our country from neighbouring countries.”
He emphasised the importance of promoting inclusive partnerships between farmers, financial institutions, researchers, processors and policy makers.
In his remarks, banana growers’ representative Frank Washoni said the conference was crucial to farmers as it will help them to have access to certified planting materials, irrigation technologies and extension support through partnerships, which are vital for boosting productivity.
He said lack of access to finance, inadequate organised banana markets and climate change are some of the factors contributing to low supply of bananas in the country.
Malawi is yet to fully recover after most of the bananas were wiped out by banana bunchy top virus in 2016, which destroyed the livelihoods of 185 000 banana-dependent farming households, particularly in Thyolo and Mulanje districts, according to the Ministry of Agriculture
In sub-Saharan Africa, the disease affected 11 countries, including Malawi.
The conference was held under the theme ‘From farm to market: Advancing banana sector growth. through inclusion, reform and collaboration’.
