Malawi has in the past week secured financial support in excess of K146.8 billion towards revitalisation of the agriculture sector, which remains the mainstay of the economy.
The support comes as the sector’s share of the national gross domestic product has been skewed over the years due to harsh weather conditions, low investment and inconsistencies in policy direction.
But Malawi has lately enhanced efforts towards the agriculture sector commercialisation and mechanisation to ensure increased output for export market and food security.
On Wednesday, the African Development Bank (AfDB) board approved a disbursement of $23 million (about K40 billion) direct budget support for Malawi which Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda said would mainly go towards the agriculture sector.
The funds would be used for food production and value addition, among other interventions, according to Chithyola Banda.
Earlier, the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (Agra)—an African-led partnership working to help small-scale farmers— also committed over K60 billion to Malawi.
The funds would benefit about 251,000 youths in the agriculture value chain.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) has also committed about K8.6 billion to go towards revitilising soil for enhanced food production.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawala said the support affirms the dornor community’s confidence in the initiatives the country is undertaking to grow its agriculture sector.
Speaking earlier in Lilongwe during the launch of the Malawi Agriculture Mechanisation Initiative by Philip Morris International which is implemented in Malawi by Pyxus, Kawale said
“The picture is now becoming very clear; we are seeing that a mechanised and commercialised agriculture sector is happening,” Kawale said.
For many years, Malawi has relied heavily on subsistence farming which has not translated into food security for the country.
Largely, high cost of production (especially for inputs) has pushed most of the smallholder farmers out of the trade over the years.
In the 2024-25 proposed budget, the sector has been allocated K497.75 billion, representing 8.3 percent of the K5.9 trillion budget.
Of the amount, K161.28 billion is earmarked for the Affordable Inputs Programme. Only, K92.56 billion goes to the Agriculture Commercialisation projects.
