To bolster Malawi’s food safety systems and enable the country to meet international standards, the Japanese government through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has handed over a state-of-the-art Liquid Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (LC–MS) to the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS).
The equipment is used to detect pesticide residues in agricultural produce including Sesame and will significantly boost MBS’s ability to ensure compliance with international food safety standards.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at MBS’s Headquarters in Blantyre, Japanese Ambassador to Malawi, Yoichi Oya says the gesture marks a major milestone in Malawi’s journey toward safer, export-ready agricultural products to export-sensitive countries such as Japan.
“This equipment will enhance national capacity in food safety and quality assurance as well as attract more investments and enhance exports of crops grown in Malawi within and beyond Africa,” he said.
The United Nations World Food Programme provided technical support for the procurement of the equipment and training of MBS personnel.
WFP’s Country Director, Hyoung Joon Lim, states that ending hunger must ensure that local farmers can produce for both consumption and export as such there is an assurance that Malawi’s agricultural produce will not be rejected at the export market thereby empowering the farmers economically.
Deputy Director General for the MSB, Thomas Sunganimalunje, says the equipment will enhance its capacity to test and monitor pesticide residues in agricultural produce, ensuring that the food consumed locally and exported abroad is safe, of high quality, and compliant with international standards.
Both the acquisition of the equipment and technical training for MBS personnel have cost K2 billion.
By Chisomo Break
