The National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM), the country’s largest smallholder-owned membership organisation, has called for more say in the formulation of farm-gate prices.
NASFAM’s Chief Executive Officer, Betty Chinyamunyamu, said that farmers have often suffered losses when buyers are deterred by the minimum prices set by the government before the start of the marketing season.
She made the remarks when the Minister of Agriculture, Sam Kawale, visited the NASCOMEX Limited Factory in Lilongwe on Tuesday.
“We want to be more involved in the setting of minimum prices so that they work to the advantage of farmers. When prices are not set at the right level, we face challenges. They may discourage buyers, so we end up with the farmers losing instead of benefiting,” Chinyamunyamu said.
She added that NASFAM is advocating for continued collaboration between the farmers and the government to address the needs of the farmers.
Kawale concurred with Chinyamunyamu, saying that the government values the role of smallholder farmers in the nation’s development.
He assured that the current administration is keen to work with farmer associations such as NASFAM to improve the economic livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the country.
NASCOMEX is a subsidiary of NASFAM, which draws its membership from farmer associations in Malawi
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