The Ministry of Agriculture says the National Food System Transformation Synthesis (NFSTS) has been providing a clear roadmap of how the revolution could deal with food insecurity, climate change and sustainability challenges.
Blantyre Agricultural Development Division deputy programme manager Geoffrey Maloni said this at a Southern Region dissemination meeting of NFSTS organised by Mwapata Institute.
According to Maloni, the strategy targets key five areas which are food security and nutrition, inclusivity and equity, climate resilience and environmental sustainability, policy and governance, and economic growth and livelihoods.
He said: “The synthesis report that we are disseminating provides a clear roadmap for this transformation as it highlights key pathways for achieving food system reform across several priority areas.
“They include scaling up climate-smart agriculture, water management systems, and sustainable land-use practices to protect our natural resources; Addressing hunger and improving nutritional outcomes through increased diversification of crops and livestock, and promoting nutrition-sensitive agriculture.”
Maloni said the dissemination of the synthesis in all regions is a deliberate move to ensure that each region addresses its food security challenges considering that each region or district faces its own unique challenges and opportunities.
“This process of regional dissemination allows for the tailoring of national strategies to meet local needs and contexts, ensuring that the transformation is inclusive and effective,” he said.
In his presentation titled ‘Food Systems Strategy Investment Plan’, agriculture economist in the ministry Doshanie Kadokera said some of the areas emphasised in the synthesis are the need for stakeholders to encourage the communities to diversify their staple crops.
“When maize has not done well, it is not a sign of food insecurity, because, mostly there are other crops like cassava sweet potatoes that do well to ensure people have enough food.
“This is the reason climate resilient crops are being encouraged to ensure more drought tolerant crops are grown and guarantee food security in times of El-Nino. However, this is not to say farmers should not grow maize,” he said.
The NFSTS meeting in the Southern Region, which attracted over 100 district health, agriculture and trade officers, was funded by GIZ, according to Mwapata Institute.
