By Daniel Zimba:
Trade Minister Sosten Gwengwe has emphasised the significance of farmers working in cooperatives and investing in value addition to maximise benefits and contribute to economic development.
Gwengwe made the remarks on Monday when he inspected a Shire Valley Transformation Project (SVTP) site in Chikwawa District.
“We are preaching value addition because we cannot continue with the kind of farming that has not really taken our farmers out of poverty.
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“We want the farmers to be primary beneficiaries of their farm products and to make contributions to the country’s trade development by promoting local production and exports,” Gwengwe said.
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The minister also held talks with cooperative farmers in the district, where authorities are promoting cooperative farming.
Mwanaalilenji Cooperative is one of three cooperatives that are ready to start benefitting from the SVTP by June 2025, as disclosed by Agriculture Commercialisation expert Adrian Masebo. The cooperative’s chairperson Robert Makion said they were ready and committed to contribute to the national agriculture and trade agenda, provided they receive enough support.
“We are ready and have the skills to make finished products from our farm inputs.
“However, we lack financial support. We need about K14 billion and while the World Bank has given us K10 billion we are struggling to raise the remaining K4 billion,” Makion said.
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Mwanaalilenji Cooperative has 774 hectares of land with approximately 791 members investing in cotton, soya and chilli farming.
About 70 percent of the irrigation drainage facility under the SVTP is already complete. The Ministry of Trade has established and registered 15 cooperatives in phase one, including 13 crop cooperatives and two livestock cooperatives, with a total of 16,175 members.
