Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale has appealed to players in the agriculture sector to invest more financial resources in extension services saying the knowledge gap among farmers remains huge.
Speaking when he opened the Farming and Extension Services conference in Lilongwe on Tuesday, Kawale said for farmers to embrace commercial agriculture, climate smart practices, adopt technologies such as mechanization, irrigation, weather forecasts and soil fertility management will require a vibrant extension sub sector.
Meanwhile, the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has set aside K1 billion which will through a project help government in extension services.
The the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) has pledged to train youth in rural communities to impart knowledge to the farmers on new technologies among others.
‘’As IFAD we are helping in addressing challenges in extension such as rehabilitating extension infrastructure beside providing motor bicycles to ease mobility,” said Bernadette Makonyora IFAD’s Country Director.
By Isaac Jali
