Chakwera vows to secure food security in Malawi

President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera,  says his vision is to transform Malawi into a food secure nation that feeds itself.

He made the remarks on Wednesday at the launch of Agricultural Mechanization Initiative at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.

In his remarks, President Chakwera emphasized that Vision Malawi 2063 Agenda is about creating more wealth and do away with a culture of relying on handouts.

He hailed Phillip Morris International who are the sponsors of the project through Pyxus Agriculture for empowering smallholder farmers with soft loans and machines to venture into mega farming.

He called on the farmers that will be beneficiaries of the project to make good use of the machinery and also pay back the loans on agreed time.

The Malawi leader also advised ministry of agriculture officials to make follow ups and ensure the facilities are put to good use.

Minister of Agriculture Sam Dalitso Kawale praised the president for working tirelessly to ensure that the country achieve Malawi Vision 2063 Agenda.

He also hailed the president for ensuring that the process of commercializing agriculture is thriving.

He praised Chakwera for successfully negotiating the second compact under the US$350 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) which will enable Malawians to resolve challenges in linking small holder farmers to markets by improving the roads infrastructurelthat will enable improved rural road infrastructure.

“This is a very a good development because it will ease challenges that farmers were facing in transporting their commodities to various markets,” he said.

Controller of Agriculture Extension and Technical Services in the Ministry of Agriculture Dr. Alfred Mwenifumbo said his ministry is geared to implement the program.

Managing Director for Pyxus Agriculture Ronald Ngwira said he is hopeful that the program will help improve the welfare of both commercial and subsistence farmers in Malawi.