Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale has said the cost of production of agriculture value chains such as maize will continue to rise in the short to medium term due to uncertainty in the cost of inputs.
He was speaking when he opened the inaugural Agriculture Services Managers’ Network (Agrinet) Conference and Symposium in Lilongwe.
Kawale said the country has already seen the cost of fertiliser, seed, herbicides and other inputs going up, observing that this is impacting production in the country.
Kawale said the rise in the cost of production has not only affected maize but all other crops.
He was quick to note that his ministry was coming up with innovations to counter the rising cost of inputs.
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“We, as the Ministry of Agriculture, don’t want to wait until the costs go up. That’s why we have come up with some good innovations. We have extremely good innovations that are replacing some of the old inputs that we had.
“That’s why when it comes to issues of fertiliser, we have some of the best and cheap fertilisers on the market. The same [applies to] seed varieties, herbicides and pesticides,” he said.
Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) Executive Director Hadrod Mkandawire said the core objectives of Agrinet include information gathering on agriculture services functionality, financing and challenges to inform Malga’s broader and specific policy dialogue and fiscal devolution work.
Making a presentation, Director of Agriculture Services for Zomba, Linda Mphande, lamented underfunding to directorates of agriculture at council level.
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According to Mphande, agriculture is the backbone of Malawi’s economy and that if not well funded, there are always challenges.
“Ideally, our role as directors of agriculture services in councils is to ensure that there is sustainable agriculture productivity for income and food security of the farmers,” Mphande said.
