President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has expressed shock at lack of implementation on a number of directives and policy direction on mega farms.
Speaking at the official opening of this year’s Malawi Agricultural Productivity and Commercialization Conference on Thursday in Lilongwe, President Chakwera said he is saddened that two years after after issuing directives and policy directions for the commencement of mega farms, the directives have not been honoured.
“After two years of my administration, the ministry is yet to produce a single mega farm anywhere in the country, and this is a failure I no longer have patience to abide,” said President Chakwera.
The Malawi leader then called on stakeholders to scale up efforts for the practical implementations of solutions that will drive agricultural activity and commercialization in the country.
“As much as I respect conferences and talking workshops that create a synergy of ideas and policies in the agricultural sector, I am afraid the time for talking is past. This is a moment for action, because we already know what our situation as nation with an agro-based economy demand.” he said.
He further noted that the country lacks action-oriented mentality to actualize several policy directions and pronouncements by the Ministry of Agriculture.
“As you can see, what we lack is not policy direction or investment opportunities or public pronouncements regarding agricultural productivity and commercialization through mega farms. What we lack is implementation of those policies and pronouncements by the ministry of agriculture.”
The two-day conference has been organized by Mwapata Institute and the Government of Malawi.