By Cathy Maulidi
President Lazarus Chakwera has challenged Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) to do more on mega farms and help the country achieve Malawi 2063 vision goals.
Chakwera said this during the graduation ceremony for 2,162 Luanar students that took place at the university’s Bunda campus.
Chakwera, who stressed that each individual has a duty to provide solutions to challenges affecting national development, also called on Luanar graduates to help solve challenges that have beset the agriculture sector.
“We must all labour every day in unity to fulfil this desire of making Malawi a better country and our graduates should be in the forefront to provide solutions to a litany of challenges affecting our development as a nation. Challenges such as food security, protection of the environment, combating diseases, containing locust invasions, providing sustainable agricultural initiatives and dealing with problems of climate change, among others,” Chakwera said.
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The President added that Pillar Number 1 of the Malawi 2063, which focuses on agricultural productivity and commercialisation, cannot be achieved without Luanar’s involvement.
“I am therefore happy to note that Luanar is a key player in the mega farms programme which I launched recently. Under this initiative, Luanar is the knowledge hub, providing technical services to all participants under this programme,” Chakwera said.
On his part, Luanar Vice Chancellor Professor Emmanuel Kaunda said he has no doubt that the men and women who have graduated will succeed.
“These fine men and women shall succeed. We have equipped them with the skills and knowledge to conquer the challenges of the earth and, in particular, Malawi.
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“They shall not sit down and complain when they are faced with challenges but will draw from what they have been taught to offer solutions. Luanar is proud to provide solution providers,” Kaunda said.
Two-thousand-one-hundred-and-sixty-two people graduated, out of whom 580 have acquired diplomas, 1,500 have received bachelor of science degrees, 75 have graduated with master’s degrees and seven have PhDs.
Thirty-three percent of the graduands are female, reflecting an improvement compared to 15 percent in the formative years.
Four students graduated with distinctions.
As a symbol of appreciation to the President’s commitment to Luanar’s Bunda Farm, the university gave Chakwera a gift of 20 bags of Kilombero rice and 20 bags of maize from the farm.
Vice President Saulos Chilima also attended the event.
