The 2024 Malawi Productivity and Agricultural Commercialization Conference has been organized to foster strategic dialogue, provide evidence-based policy guidance, and support the implementation of agriculture transformation.
Held under the theme “transforming agri-food systems to generate wealth for all,” it resonates well with the country aspirations of the Malawi 2063 vision of Agri-food systems transformation.
National Planning Commission (NPC) Director General Dr. Thomas Munthali indicated that the main focus is to ensure that discussions at the conference are moved into actions and recommendations tracked with few relating to mega-farming where the need to engage the private sector more was highlighted.
Government facilitated the mega-farm support unit with the private sector being challenged to achieve more in attaining food security thereby addressing the macroeconomic instability issues hence facilitating the graduation journey much faster.
He underscored the need to make Malawi’s systems more resilient with a focus on irrigation and revamping cooperatives which were engaged in irrigation in the past to ensure the recommendations are accompanied with actions
The Commission’s role is to follow through the recommendations coming in key conferences with the actions which have been taken on the ground so that the meetings are not reduced to talk shows.
The call for resilient food systems Dr. Munthali argued stems from the fact that Malawi has been highly impacted by incidents of natural disasters and calamities.
“Resilient agriculture systems are very key; if we don’t do that the natural disasters are not yet done with us, I think we keep on having them so we need to get ready for them. Secondly is the issue of coordination, there is a lot of efforts that various partners are playing but because we have been for a long time working in silos that has affected the impact of what we’re achieving
“That’s why one of the recommendations we made in moving forward is can we consolidate the various conferences, various joint sector reviews so that we do them jointly instead of having the different groups meeting differently and different partners doing different things”
Jacob Nyirongo Chair for the Advisory Board of agriculture independent think tank MwAPATA Institute hoped through the conference there will be collaborative efforts in terms of developing policies and regulatory instruments that can guide all partners in achieving sustainable food systems for Malawi.
He underscored the need for proper collaboration between those that can finance and those in processing, farmers and those providing advisory services to the farming community for a common goal in transforming the agriculture systems.
“Since we started conducting this Conference, we’ve been able to achieve some goals as a country for example the mega-farms unit that has been established through the Ministry of Agriculture and we have seen also mechanization that has also improved.
“We see that tractors have been bought but also pooled in private sector that are also hiring out tractors and the reason is to make sure that farming as a business is commercialized and that farmers are able to invest in their farming more productively”
Opening the meeting, Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale noted that a reflection on Agri-food Systems Transformation is important as Malawi continues to pursue agricultural productivity and commercialization goals in the wake of climate change shocks, increased frequency and intensity.
Over the last five decades, the country has recorded 19 floods and seven drought episodes which have worsened food insecurity and undermined the country’s efforts to transform food systems sustainably.
“These extreme climatic shocks are projected to increase in frequency and severity in Malawi and have a detrimental effect on our economy. According to the Malawi Country Climate and Development Report, if nothing is done to reverse the current situation, Malawi is expected to experience as high as a 20% loss in GDP by 2040.
“These statistics should force us into action. An action by us all and not just one sector, Ministry, or person. All players in the food systems must act now if our aspirations to raise agricultural productivity and are to be achieved.” said the Minister.
Malawi has already shown commitment to embarking on this journey to transform the agri-food systems by developing a national food systems strategy and investment which without taking action, remains a plan.
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