Minister advises NFRAto stick to strategic plan

Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale has told the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) that sticking tothe strategic plan is the secret to achieving an institution’s aspirations and mandate.

He was speaking on Wednesday when NFRA launched its 2023 to 2030 Strategic Plan at the Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe.

“Let the strategic plan translate into the realisation of your mandate, you are a key stakeholder in the attainment of food security so work with the farmers to ensure that we have quality produce to avoid incidences where grain rots in the silos,” he said.

Grain rotting in storage has been an annual challenge, with 2016 being the worst when a donors’ assessment revealed that almost 4 821 metric tonnes (MT) was not in good condition, 2 910MT was characterised as dust and chaff, 419MT had high aflatoxin levels.

The donors also found that almost 1 500MT of maize was no longer of use as it had been in the silos for too long.

Kawale said after 45 years of operations, NFRA needed a stock taking to see where it has failed to improve and that it should move away from focusing on maize alone but to take aboard other crops to increase food reserves.

NFRA finance director David Loga said the strategic plan focuses on four pillars, namely strategic food reserve, financial management and resource mobilisation, human capital development and governance and stakeholder engagement.

“We tried as much as possible to align the strategic plan to the Malawi 2063 agenda focusing on the first 10 years implementation plan and we believe we will achieve our goals,” he said.

On his part, NFRA board chairperson Dennis Kalekeni said the new strategic plan is well-drafted, among others, to prevent reserved food going bad while in storage.

“As you heard from the minister, we will be working in close collaboration with farmers and other stakeholders to ensure that we have quality food in our reserves so no such incidents will occur,” he said.

Kalekeni also presented the NFRA newly-appointed chief executive officer George Macheka, describing him as an energetic and dedicated man who will propel the agency to success and ensure adherence to the strategic plan.