By Kingsley Jassi:
Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha has said the Treasury has mobilised K247 billion out of the needed K387 billion to deal with the hunger situation this lean period.
However, he was optimistic that the gap would be filled, drawing confidence from the aid inflow since President Peter Mutharika made a public appeal for support.
Mwanamvekha said this when he received K400 million from Nico Holdings Group on Wednesday in Lilongwe for the food supply intervention.
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Board Chairperson of the conglomerate, Elias Ngalande, appealed to the private sector to come in numbers and help government in dealing with the situation that he said was too big for government alone.
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“In our businesses we deal with the people, some of whom are affected by the food insecurity and we felt the responsibility to come in and support,” Ngalande said.
However, the Finance Minister challenged the financial sector to increase financing towards productive sector of agriculture to put to the end the recurring food shortages.
“I know there is a risk in agriculture financing but in business there is always a risk. We need to increase productivity in the agriculture sector,” the minister appealed.
The support by Nico Group will go through World Vision, which will purchase the relief maize for the needy families.
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The country registered 20 percent food production deficit during the last production season, a scenario that came after another deficit the previous season.
