President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera says the concept of mega farms must now be actualised and has urged various stakeholders to join the fray in supporting the initiative.
He was speaking at Kanengo in Lilongwe when he officially launched the Mega Farm Support Program as well the program’s One Stop Support Centre and Coordinating Unit.
Chakwera described the official inception of the program as a game changer for Malawian farmers whom he said have deep and rich knowledge about farming but have for so long not reaped maximum benefits of farming.
According to the President, the launch of the program is in tandem with the Malawi Vision 2063 ten-year implementation plan which envisages to transform the economy into a lower middle-income status by 2030.
“Most of our foreign exchange comes from farming and a long-term solution to foreign scarcity is boosting productivity and exports, and this is why we need these mega farms,” he said.
He said his government is very committed to identify export markets to the country’s products and also improve access to finance “which is something we have to take seriously.”
President Chakwera also disclosed that his administration has partnered with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) to offer farmers technical support and also various business skills, among others.
As it stands, about 800 farmers have been mobilised to take off the program with an estimated 63,000 hectares of land secured for growing different value chains during the 2023/24 farming season.