Govt. banks on farmer cooperatives to develop agribusiness

By Gloria Mbwana

There is a need for the country’s small-scale farmers to form cooperatives if they are to graduate from subsistence to commercial farming.

Registrar of Cooperatives in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism Wiskes Nkombezi said this atthe official launch of the Cooperative Development Activity 4 (CD4) project which is being implemented by US premier agribusiness company, Land O’Lakes, with funding from USAID to the tune of $1.7 million.

Nkombezi said: “The Government of Malawi is encouraging farmers to come together, through cooperatives and pursue farming as a business; the CD4 comes in as a part player, joining the Government of Malawi and other development partners to further this agenda”.

He expressed gratitude towards development partners who are taking part in strengthening farmer based organizations saying it would be difficult for the government to succeed in the project without their support.

“Collaboration is very important. Therefore, I take this opportunity to request all partners present today to synergize your efforts, as we all continue to contribute to the development and growth of the Cooperative Movement in Malawi. We will achieve the goal of sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction if we continue working together”, Nkombezi said.

The CD4 aims to improve the cooperative enabling environment by strengthening apex organizations and by promoting a Cooperative Learning Platform, enhance cooperative business performance through tailored technical assistance and to advance development communities support for cooperatives through supporting research in cooperatives and disseminate findings through both local and global channels.

Nkombezisaid the project is important to strengthen cooperatives as some collapse due tolack of knowledge on how to run them as business enterprises.

“Cooperatives need technical capacity strengthening to support their sustainability and growth. If cooperatives are strengthened in aspects of business operations, they are empowered to make sound business decisions which in turn enhances their growth,” Nkombezi said.

In his remarks, USAID Office Director Cullen Hughes said CD4 has come in at an opportune time when Malawi government and development partners are strategizing on the implementation of the National Agricultural Policy (NAP).

NAP emphasizes on developmentof farmer organizations as a key intervention for driving Malawi’s agricultural development.

“In response to the need for strong farmer organizations in the operationalization of the NAP, the Department of Agricultural Extension Services has developed a strategy for farmer organization development to which the program being launched today is closely aligned,” he said.

Agriculture remains the driving force of Malawi’s economy contributing approximately one third of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and nearly 80%of export revenue.

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