The Minister of Higher Education and Innovation, Dr. Jessie Kabwila, has challenged researchers to take a greater role in identifying solutions for addressing emerging socio-economic problems affecting ordinary Malawians.
Kabwila was speaking in Lilongwe on Tuesday when she opened the fifth National Research Dissemination Conference, which the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) to provide a platform for researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs to showcase their research outputs.
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Held under the theme “Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Towards a Productive and Resilient Nation”, the Fifth National Research Dissemination Conference has been organized to provide a platform for researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs to showcase their research outputs.
In her remarks, Kwabila emphasized the need for research to provide the tools and knowledge needed to understand and tackle intricate issues, such as climate change, disease, and economic challenges facing the nation.
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“This platform is not only a celebration of progress, it is a declaration of intent. It tells the world that Malawi is ready to research, ready to innovate, and ready to lead. [But] let me emphasize: research must not end in the academic journals, it must begin to live in the lives of our people,” she said.
Expressing government’s commitment to providing adequate resources to the sector, the minister said President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera and his government puts significant priority on research, science, technology, innovation, and evidence-based policymaking as critical drivers of national development.
Kabwila added that science and technology is key in building a productive Malawi capable of creating jobs, reducing poverty, and building resilience.
She therefore said the government would endeavor to empower entrepreneurs, especially youth and women, in order to make entrepreneurship a national identity.
“Our country is full of brilliant minds and untapped potential. We see innovation in our classrooms, in our villages, in our industries. We have seen it in our youth, like Mr. Daniel Kwizombe the creator of Eka-lite bulbs, and in institutions such as the MUST Innovation Garage, and the UNIPOD at MUBAS. Government policies are now more aligned with technology advancement, digitalisation, and research-to-product pipelines. We are determined to create an ecosystem where innovation is not stifled, but supported, not only by government, but also by the private sector, civil society, and development partners.
“We believe that the key to a competitive private sector lies in innovation. I wish to commend NCST for its tireless efforts in supporting innovation across various sectors through strengthening research and technology transfer systems, provision of various grants and facilitating management of STI indicators in the country,” said the minister.
But NCST Vice Board Chairperson, Dr. Cecilia Maliwichi Nyirenda, lamented government’s underinvestment to the research and development sector, disclosing that this limits the country’s capacity to generate new technologies and enhance productivity in strategic sectors.
Nyirenda disclosed that investment in research and development stands at 0.17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), which she described as significantly below the African Union target of one percent and the global average of 2.2 percent.
“For example, while agriculture employs over 80 percent of our population, it contributes only 23 percent to GDP, largely due to insufficient investment in research, innovation in crop varieties, irrigation systems, and mechanization,” she said.
Speaking earlier, Director General of Commission, Gift Kadzamira, said the conference is aimed at promoting collaboration, networking and partnerships among researchers, innovators, policy makers and the industry.
Kadzamira further stated that the conference will provide a platform for showcasing research outputs and to facilitate evidence-based policy dialogue and decision making.
Over 100 research outputs will be presented at this conference, across various fields such as agriculture, health, climate change, energy, education, digital technology, industry, and social sciences.
