Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development director of agriculture and research services Grace Kaudzu has underlined the importance of cotton seed multiplication to help achieve high yields.
She said this on Friday in Salima during Cotton Farmers Connect meeting at Chitala Research Station organised by Africa Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC) under the Eastern and Southern Africa Cotton Organisation project with support from We Effect.
Said Kaudzu: “The seed multiplication programme is important because it is the foundation for any agricultural production.
“Without seed, there will be no agriculture. We are not just talking about any seed, but we are talking about quality seed.”
However, she admitted that there have been challenges for the country to have quality cotton seed and commended AICC for initiating the project which is important for the cotton sector.
Cotton Council of Malawi executive director Apatsa Selemani said there is progress to ensure that the sector thrives and farmers benefit.
“Our mandate is to promote the cotton industry, but there is still a lot that we want to do to attract more investors to ensure that farmers sell their produce at good prices and make profits,” he said.
We Effect Malawi executive director Esther Chirwa commended AICC for developing seed multiplication project.
AICC board member Mary Kambalu said they are looking forward to a time when quality cotton seed will be readily available in the country.
Cotton Farmers Association in Malawi president Rabson Zidana described the cotton seed multiplication project as a game changer for cotton farmers.
