The Transforming Agriculture through Diversification and Entrepreneurship (TRADE) programme has presented about K170 million in grants to two farmer cooperatives from Lilongwe District.
The initiative seeks to enhance agriculture business for rural communities.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Minister of Social Welfare, Jean Sendeza, said the grants signify the importance that the government through TRADE is attaching to the agriculture business in the country.
Sendeza who is a legislator for Lilongwe South West Constituency, expressed satisfaction that smallholder farmers in the country are taking the initiative to seek funding and improve their agriculture productivity, which she said is the goal for the Chakwera Administration
Among the two beneficiary cooperatives, Mzati Women Groundnuts Producers Cooperative will procure a solar groundnut dryer and a groundnut sheller while Naphini Producers and Marketing Cooperative will invest in farm machinery, precisely a tractor and its accessories.
The funds are a matching grant from the TRADE programme under the Agricultural Commercialisation Innovations fund (ACIF) that is expected to disburse $20,000 worth of grants with 10 percent contributions from the beneficiary groups.
Reported by Eunice Ndhlovu.
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