Malawi is set to revolutionise its agricultural productivity following insights attained from its participation in the 2023 Big Iron Farm Show organized by the Northern Dakota Trade Office in the United States of America.
Leader of the Malawi delegation during the learning tour, Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet (DSCP), Janet Banda SC, who is also the Head of the Presidential Delivery Unit, said the country wishes to drive crop diversification via mega-farms to wean itself from the current reliance on tobacco.
The learning tour provided insights that can be applied in mega-farms.
She said the focus of the country will be maximum production of cereals and pulses that are in high demand on the global market. These include rice, maize, wheat, beans, and soya just to mention a few.
Banda said for the country to realise such aspirations there’s a need to benchmark what other countries advanced in agricultural productivity are managing the sector.
“Mega farms are one of the flagship programmes under President Dr Lazarus Chakwera’s Agenda of job and wealth creation and ensuring that Malawi is food secure. Attending this year’s Big Iron Farm Show in Dakota demonstrates the country’s seriousness as it pursues the mega farm project and looking for progressive ways of adopting modern farming techniques, machinery, and technologies that the world offers,” said Banda.
Some of the agricultural machinery displayed during the fair
She further said the event created a platform for peer learning among the countries that participated. On the sidelines of the agricultural fair, the Malawi delegation was engaged in bilateral meetings with officials from the participating countries. They shared notes on issues affecting agricultural development in their respective countries.
According to a communique the delegation has released, the country has also collected information on the latest agricultural machinery, equipment, and technologies that can improve productivity and efficiency in Malawi’s farming sector.
The Malawi delegation during the tour
The agricultural show was attended by several countries including Zambia, Romania, Malawi, Angola and Armenia. Other members of the delegation from Malawi included the Principal Secretary responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation, Anjimile Mtila, Principal Secretary for Irrigation Services, Geoffrey Mamba, Enwell Kadango and Sangwani Khosa from the Presidential Delivery Unit, Julius Chulu, Martin Kausi and Henry Msatilomo from Ministry of Agriculture.
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