Mining & Trade News

Poultry Industry Association of Malawi (PIAM) has expressed worry over the increase in cases of illegal poultry importation, the conduct the institution says weighs on business for local farmers and government’s revenue collection.

PIAM, which is the mother body of all poultry associations in Malawi has expressed the concern following the increase in the number of cases of illegal importation of poultry and poultry products. The organization says, if the malpractice is not checked, it might have grave effects on local poultry industry and the national economy.

PIAM Technical Advisor Eric Chuma lamented the organization receives reports of people bringing into the country birds from other countries every week.

He said most people smuggling chickens into the country sell the birds at cheaper prices than those produced locally which negatively impacts on business for local farmers.

Chuma revealed that smugglers use unchartered routes thereby evading import duty which is a loss to the country in terms of revenue collection.

“As a country, we should vigilantly ensure that illegal poultry importation is halted. The practice is killing the local poultry industry and impacting negatively on collection of taxes,” said Chuma.

Most chickens are smuggled from Zambia and are locally offloaded in Lilongwe at Area 25, Mtandire, Mtsiliza and Kauma. While in the North, the birds are offloaded at Mzimba boma and Jenda.

Chuma, however, expressed optimism that the issue will be addressed saying his organization is working in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Police and Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) to arrest the situation.

He asked local consumers to support the local poultry industry which, he said, contributes about 11% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

There are also worries that illegal poultry importation may lead to transfer of infectious diseases into the country.

Meanwhile, PIAM has asked the Malawi Government to remove tax on the importation of products used in poultry production in order to support the local industry.

“PIAM believes that if products used in poultry farming are cheaper, cases of smuggling of chickens will be minimized because the local products will sell at cheaper prices compared to imports,” he said.

Police in Mchinji recently intercepted trucks smuggling poultry into Malawi from Zambia.

Government says it will work hand in hand with seed production company Seed Co. Malawi Limited to scale up the adoption of hybrids and improved seeds by the country’s famers to ensure higher yields.

Malawi lags behind in hybrid adoption by 37% in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.

Speaking during the first Inaugural Annual Growers Meeting organized by Seed Co, Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe applauded Seed Co. as a key stakeholder in agriculture saying the company plays a very important role in achieving food sufficiency in Malawi.

Lowe described hybrid and improved seed as key catalysts to improved yields in Malawi that would help to increase the current production of 1.8MT per hectare to around 5MT per hectare, closing the gap to match the regional average of 5MT per hectare.

He said: “The importance of hybrid seed to food security in Malawi cannot be overemphasized. Hybrids and improved seed are key to improving farmer yields. Unfortunately, hybrid adoption in Malawi currently at 37% lags behind countries in the region.”

“This is the more reason Government has introduced Affordable Input Programme (AIP) where over 4,200,000 farming families will benefit.”

“The development will increase the hybrid adoption rate and it is expected that all things being equal, Malawi will have a bumper harvest.”

Lowe also disclosed that the Government through the Ministry is developing and formulating the Seed Policy and Seed Bill.

He said the bill is being development to curb the proliferation of fake seeds and protect smallholder farmers from exploitation by unscrupulous traders.

“I pledge close working relationship between the Ministry, the Private Sector and Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs) active in the seed sector,” he said.

In his remarks, Seed Co. Managing Director Boyd Luwe said the conference was organized to act as a platform to address questions from people interested in seed multiplication business as well as informing them of what it takes to be awarded a contract in the industry.

He said Seed Co. brought into the conference six powerful presentations which tackled different aspects in the seed multiplication business.

The topics are: Meaning of Winning: -Farmer-Based Seed Multiplication Systems; Seed Production and Certification Systems in Malawi; Implications of Genetic Purity on Quality and Crop Varietal Performance; Unlocking the Hidden Potential of Serenade Soybean Variety; Pure for sure: -Seed Quality Assurance at a Glance; and Cutting-Edge Research: -Amazing Genetics Gains for Climate Smart Agriculture.

He also disclosed that Seed Co. has adopted transformative initiatives to assist farmers to get resources to ensure that their businesses are well capitalized.

Speaking on sidelines of the meeting, a Grower for Seed Co. Linda Goodman from Lisumbwi farm in Mitundu, Lilongwe said the conference helped them to understand some of the aspects that will boost their agribusiness.

Goodman said: “This year’s conference will help us understand some of the things that we were not able to understand and also interact with other farmers nationwide and share ideas about how we can go further in farming.”

“Not only that, the conference will motivate more women to get attracted to farming which is only taken as male’s work, and also taking farming as a business not just for consumption.

The 15-year agribusiness entrepreneur also urged Seed Co. to continue with the meetings saying they will keep them familiar with the new technologies being developed in farming activities.

Seed Co. plans to be hosting the Growers Conference every year.

This year’s conference also marked 80th anniversary of the company in the seed business industry.

Agriculture as the main anchor of Malawi’s economy contributing 30% to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 60% to Malawi’s workforce in sector.

The Malawi Government has called for more investment in Greenbelt irrigation projects as one way of transforming the country’s economy.

Minister of Irrigation and Water Development Charles Mchacha made the call after touring Salima Sugar factory, which is a product of Greenbelt Authority.

Mchacha, who was accompanied by his Deputy Esther Majaza, said with substantial investments, Greenbelt initiatives have the potential of turning around the economic status of the country.

“Learning from the sugar factory, it is clear that as a country if we put more energy and resources in Greenbelt initiatives, the economy will not be same in the next few years to come,” Mchacha said.

The Minister, who toured the factory and the sugarcane plantation, said it is pleasing to note that since the company’s inception it continues to grow in its operations which have provided a ready market for sugarcane to smallholder farmers in Salima and surrounding districts.

” I am also told that the company has now employed close to four thousand people, which is a remarkable achievement in terms of uplifting the wellbeing of Malawians,” Mchacha said.

Acting CEO for Greenbelt Authority Amon Mluwira said the company has lined up a number of measures to increase its production this year and beyond, which includes additional investment in sugarcane production in 6-thousand hectors.

“We are making good progress as a company, for instance last year we managed to produce 13-thousand metric tonnes of sugar but this year we are targeting 26-thousand metric tonnes,” he said.

The company started its operations in 2016, and since then its production has been increasing in each milling season.

The Tobacco Commission (TC) says 2019/2020 marketing season of the country’s green gold, tobacco, will still open on Monday, April 20, despite the pending lockdown due to the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

State President Arthur Peter Mutharika and the Minister of Health and Population Services Jappie Mhango announced on Tuesday night that the country is to effect a 21 days’ national lockdown from next Saturday in a quest to curb further spread of the pandemic.

However, speaking to Mining and Trade Review, TC’s Corporate Planning and Development Manager Hellings Nasoni said the 2019/2020 tobacco market season will still open but “will operate in line with a special directive issued by the Health Authorities.”

Nasoni said: “The Commission and other Industry players have stepped up measures to ensure balanced operations during the process, among others; farmers themselves will be restricted from witnessing marketing proceedings at selling floors and everyone carrying out various operations during the process is required to put on protective gears as prescribed by health officials.”

“Throughout, the process we will continue to complement government efforts to prevent further spread of the virus by abiding by health and safety measures as directed by relevant Authorities.”

To ensure transparency during the process, Nasoni said “the commission will closely work with Tobacco Growers Association who will be representing farmers at selling floors, while sole farmers will be represented by Auction Holdings Limited (AHL) officers who will be available at the floors.”

AHL has also introduced a special number that farmers can dial to check status of their tobacco at the market floors among others; the price at which it has been sold and the name of the buyer.

The first market to be opened will be Lilongwe Auction Floors followed by Chinkhoma on April 21st then Limbe on April 27th and finally Mzuzu on May 4.

Tobacco remains the biggest cash crop in Malawi. During last season a total of 165 million kilograms of tobacco was sold realising US$237 million in revenue. About 155 million kilograms of tobacco is expected to be sold on the market this year.

In a bid to regulate prices of agricultural commodities on the local market, Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has announced minimum farm-gate prices of crop produce for the 2019/2020 agricultural season.

The minimum price for maize is K200 per kg, polished and unpolished rice at K600 and K280 per kg respectively, Soya beans has been pegged at K300 per kg while pigeon peas is at K240 per kg.

Announcing the prices in Lilongwe, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Francis Kasaira said: “The Ministry is mandated to regulate prices of agricultural commodities in the country. This is achieved through the release of minimum farm-gate prices at the start of each selling season to ensure that farmers are not exploited by the unscrupulous traders.”

“At the same time, this measure ensures affordable prices to consumers. Regulation of agricultural commodity prices ultimately is key in improving incomes of farmers and achieving food and nutrition security in the country.”

The Minister said the minimum farm-gate prices are determined through a consultative process involving key stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

Among other things, the Ministry undertakes a cost of production survey in all districts across the country which involves collecting data on production costs from sampled smallholder farmers on selected crop enterprises, then the data is used to compute gross margins and break-even prices.

“To determine minimum farm gate prices, the Task Force team comprising key stakeholders such as members of the public, private, civil society and farmer organizations further scrutinize the breakeven prices for the selected crops. A markup profit usually set between 10-30% on the break-even price is considered to arrive at the minimum farm gate price,” he said.

Meanwhile, government has bankrolled the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) to commence purchasing maize from Thursday April 9 in the southern region, April 20th in the Central Region and April 27 in the Northern Region.

The first round of Agricultural Production Survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture has projected an increase in cereal, legumes, roots and tubers, livestock and fisheries production in 2019/2020 growing season.

The survey has forecast that maize production will increase by 8.8% from 3.4-million metric tonnes in 2018/2019 growing season to 3.7-million in the 2019/2020 growing season due to favorable weather conditions and increased access to inputs by farmers.

According to the statement released by the Ministry, rice production will also increase by 9.8%, millet 8.9% and sorghum at 3% due to availability of seed, increased wetlands as well as support programmes by government and other stakeholders.

“Most of all cotton production has also increased tremendously from 25-thousand metric tonnes in 2018/2019 to 52-thousand metric tonnes in 2019/2020 growing season representing a 106.8% increase due to intensive promotion campaigns, favorable weather, seed availability and good market arrangements,” says the Ministry.

On livestock, the survey says production will increase as follows; cattle at 4%, pigs 7.7%, Sheep 3.2%, Goats 7.5%, Rabbits 5.5% and Quails at 192.5% due to improved livestock management practices such as good housing, feeding, breeding and disease control.

However, fish production is to register a decrease by 19.1% from 202-thousand metric tonnes to 169-thousand due to low catches, migration of fish and severe water stress.

During the 2019/2020 Mid-year Budget Review statement, Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamveka said government has earmarked a total of K9.2 billion for maize purchase from smallholder farmers.

Mwanamveka said government will promote structured markets through commodity exchanges, warehousing systems and establishment of cooperatives as well as putting in place mechanisms to curb pilferage and illegal exportation of the country’s farm produce.

Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Kondwani Nankhumwa has hailed the Kutukula Ulimi m’Malawi (KULIMA) project being implemented by an international civil society organization Self Help Africa and its partners saying it is assisting the government in overcoming challenges that Malawi’s agricultural sector is facing.

The Minister made the remarks yesterday in Lilongwe during the learning event of the project, which was organized by Self Help Africa Malawi.

Nankhumwa said the sector is facing challenges such as dependency on rain fed agriculture, post-harvest losses, limited agricultural diversification, small land holding sizes, land degradation, lack of formal markets, among others.

He said: “I commend the KULIMA project for empowering local farmers with relevant knowledge through conducting the Farmer Field School, an approach that is playing an important role in improving and strengthening the delivery of extension services in the 10 KULIMA Project districts.”

“The approach allows farmers to experiment with new agricultural technologies without putting their own food security at risk.”

He said weak delivery of agricultural extension services due to among other factors, high farmer and extension staff ratio and ineffective coordination is one of the major problems affecting the country’s agricultural sector as it weighs on progress on dissemination and adoption of recommended farming technologies by farmers.

 “The situation has been worsened by the increasing prevalence of pests and diseases, including the emergence of the Fall Armyworm which has impacted smallholder farmers across all regions,” he said.

He, therefore, hailed the Farmer Field School approach as an innovative extension approach that is empowering farmers to identify their problem and find solutions through learning.

Self Help Africa is implementing the KULIMA Better project in 10 districts across the country in coordination with four organisations namely Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Actionaid, Plan International and Evangelical Association of Malawi with funding from the European Development Fund.

The objective of the project is to contribute to increased growth of Malawi’s agricultural sector, expand commercial agriculture base and improve food and nutrition security.

Nankhumwa also commended the project for its efforts to integrate gender, nutrition and financial inclusion through the Farmer Field Schools approach in which it provides training to farmers on various topics.

Under the KULIMA BETTER project, a total of 4, 970 Farmer Field Schools have been established and are going through a season long training focusing on different study topics which among others include integrated pest and disease management; crop variety performance; integrated soil fertility management and soil and water management.

The learning events are conducted to ensure that the lessons drawn from the Farmer Field School studies are shared with the wider community and stakeholders at community, district and national levels.

This year’s National Learning Event was conducted under the theme of ‘Finding local solutions to sustainable agricultural production, diversification and climate change through Farmer Field Schools.’

Agriculture is the main stay of the economy of Malawi contributing close to a third of the country’s GDP and employing majority of the labour force.

A leading international development charity organization Self Help Africa (SHA) has organized a national learning event for its Kulima Better Extension Training Transforming Economic Return (BETTER) Programme which will be held at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe on February 14th 2020.

The national learning event will be conducted under the theme ‘Finding local solutions to sustainable agricultural production, diversification and climate change through farmer field school.’

Learning and Communication Specialist for SHA Pauline Mbukwa says in a Press Statement that the national learning event aims at sharing the best practices that have been documented by farmer field schools.

Mbukwa says: “The overall objective of KULIMA BETTER project is to increase resilience, food, and nutrition and income security of 402, 000 smallholder farmers in the 10 KULIMA districts.”

“Since its inception in 2018, the project has been conducting various studies through farmer field schools which involve comparing research based recommendations with local practices and testing innovations in a low risk environment.”

Mbukwa says the conference will, among other things, feature oral presentations from various organizations, poster sessions, video show, and pavilion displays around diverse sub themes.

The diverse sub themes include: Integrated pest and disease control in the context of fall armyworm and Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV); impact of GALS approach on gender roles in agriculture; nutrition actions for sustained dietary diversity; resilience to climate shocks; farmer field schools for improved extension services delivery; and cost effective soil fertility management.

SHA is part of the Kutukula Ulimi M’Malawi (KULIMA) program which is co-funded to the tune of €111-million, with the European Union contributing €100-million.

The four main implementing partners of KULIMA program include: Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), GIZ, and SHA led consortium, all playing critical roles in supporting the Malawi Government to deliver the three components of KULIMA program which include to increase agricultural productivity and diversification through mainly up-scaling climate-smart agriculture technologies; agriculture value chain and business development; and support to improved governance in the agricultural sector.

The program is being implanted in 10 districts of Mzimba, Chiradzulu, Kasungu, Nkhatabay, Nkhotakota, Karonga, Mulanje, Salima, Chitipa and Thyolo.

SHA is implementing the five-year Better Extension Training Transforming Economic Return (BETTER) project in collaboration with Action Aid Malawi, Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Plan International and Evangelical Association of Malawi.   

SHA’s expertise is in small-scale farming and growing family-farm businesses, with highest motivation by injustice, by their expertise in small-scale agriculture and family-farm business, and the opportunity they have to help small farmers change the lives of their families.

The Civil Society Agriculture Network Malawi (CISANET) has stressed the need for transparency in the award of contracts in the agricultural sector in order to curb corruption, which is a stumbling block to growth of the sector.

CISANET Director of Planning Alfred Kambwiri said in Mzuzu during a media training workshop on open contracting, which it organized in partnership with the Malawi Economic Justice Network and Hivos Malawi, that there is need to uphold transparency and accountability in the contracting processes if Malawi’s economy is to adequately benefit from the agriculture sector.

Kambwiri told the journalists that as a watch dog of the society, the media needs to play a role in ensuring that there is openness in the procurement process for goods and services.

 “As CISANET, we recognize the crucial role that the media has in ensuring accountability and transparency, so we organized this training because we believe that if the media is equipped in the ethics of accountability and transparency in open contracting they can do a very great job to actually influence those ideals in the agriculture sector and all other sectors in government where procurement processes are done’ said Kambwiri

Kambwiri pointed out that almost 70% of government’s budget is spent on contracts that go through procurement which calls for the media to play an oversight role in ensuring that there is transparency in public procurement processes.

“A lot of money is spent on contracts, and if the procurement processes are not more accountable and transparent, we will lose a lot of money as a nation,” he said.

Open contracting is about publishing and using open, accessible and timely information on government contracts to engage citizens and businesses in identifying and fixing problems.

It also looks at issues of accountability and transparency in the procurement of goods and services in the public sector.

One of the workshop participants, Alex Banda of Zodiak Broadcasting Station, described the training as useful saying it has enlightened the journalists on how government undertakes procurement processes for contracts.

He said with the knowledge gained from the training, the journalists will be able to competently carry out investigations regarding breaches of procurement procedures in public institutions.

CISANET is implementing a project on open contracting in Mzimba South.