Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale has challenged Malawians to take advantage of the Agricultural Commercialisation (Agcom) initiative to set up agri-businesses and help implement the government’s job creation agenda.
Kawale made the remarks when he handed over cheques worth K6.5 billion to 41 cooperatives from 13 districts across the country in a bid to boost agri-businesses of groups whose concepts were approved under phase one of the project.
Phase 2 of the World Bank-funded project, which President Lazarus Chakwera launched in November last year, is premised on transforming smallholder agriculture from mostly subsistence to commercial status.
Kawale said the project is helping the government meet goals of the agricultural transformation agenda, which is in the Malawi 2063 vision.
“Through Agcom, we want to see that our farmers are transformed. That is why over K600 billion will be disbursed to cooperatives in the coming few years,” Kawale said.
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He added that through programmes such as Agcom as well as the Mega Farms initiative, Malawi will soon be food secure and generate enough income.
On his part, Agcom National Project Coordinator Ted Nakhumwa encouraged community members across the country to apply for grants by forming value addition groups with a minimum of 20 members each.
Nakhumwa said that through Agcom 1, which phased out last year, livelihoods of most farmers in the country changed.
“If a cooperative is approved, we ask them to contribute 10 percent of their project total in cash and, then, they have to contribute 20 percent in kind while the rest is provided by us. This is not a loan; it is a grant meant to uplift the lives of people in this country,” he said.
