Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Engineer Geoffrey Mamba, has highlighted climate variability, resource limitations, and gaps in mechanization and agro-industrialization as some of the major factors slowing progress in agricultural diversification and value addition.
Mamba has therefore challenged stakeholders to identify measures that could help in fostering climate resilience, supporting sustainable growth, and prioritizing the well-being of smallholder farmers in Malawi.
The PS made the remarks in Lilongwe on Thursday (19th December 2024) when he opened a two-day National Stakeholder Engagement on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Agricultural Investment Plan (RAIP) Shadow Report.
The engagement meeting has been organized by the Partnership for Social Accountability Alliance (PSA Alliance), in collaboration with the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM) and Eastern and Southern Africa Small-scale Farmers’ Forum (ESAFF) with the support of the GIZ-Strengthening National-Regional Linkages (SNRL) Programme.
In his speech, Mamba indicated that despite Malawi’s National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP) prioritizing agricultural diversification, resilience building, value chain development, and improved food security, efforts to realize these goals are being hindered by adverse effects of climate change.
“Similarly, the ATM [agriculture, tourism and mining] strategy has positioned agriculture as central to achieving inclusive economic growth, focusing on enhancing resilience to climatic shocks, leveraging innovative technologies, and building adaptive capacity among smallholder farmers. However, challenges persist. Climate variability, resource limitations, and gaps in mechanization and agro-industrialization continue to hinder progress,” he said.
Mamba said the meeting had therefore presented a critical opportunity for the participants to reflect on successes and challenges under the RAIP 2017–2022 while providing clear and actionable recommendations for the RAIP 2024–2030.
At this point, the PS asked the participants to focus their deliberations on themes that align with both national and regional objectives, highlighting agricultural diversification and value addition, climate-smart agriculture and resilience, empowering women and youth in agriculture, strengthening regional integration and trade and leveraging innovation and mechanization.
“Let us strive to create a RAIP that fosters climate resilience, supports sustainable growth, and prioritizes the well-being of our smallholder farmers. This will not only transform agriculture but also uplift livelihoods across the SADC region,” said Mamba.
While expressing the farmers’ commitment to ensuring food security and contributing to Malawi’s economic growth, NASFAM Board Chairperson, Brian Jere, called upon the government to provide inputs that are affordable and accessible to all the farmers across the country.
Jere also asked the government to provide adequate training and resources for smallholder farmers to adopt agroecological practices, water conservation techniques, and access to climate information services.
“We want investments in value addition and agro-processing to help us earn better incomes and reduce post-harvest losses, better road networks, storage facilities, and irrigation systems to enhance productivity and market access and more tailored programs that empower women and young farmers, recognizing their role as change makers in agriculture,” he said.
Stakeholders from the SADC member states, including Malawi, are attending the workshop, which aims to provide a platform for the stakeholders to reflect on the Shadow Monitoring Report of SADC RAIP 2017-2022 and to incorporate national perspectives on the implementation of RAIP 2017-2022 – successes and challenges.
The workshop, which will run up to Friday, December 20, 2024, will also increase stakeholder awareness on RAIP Programs and other related interventions.
