President Dr Lazarus Chakwera says his government has the confidence to turn Malawi into an inclusively worth, self-reliant nation which is well industrialized and has an upper middle-income economy.
He emphasised the Agriculture, Tourism and Mining (ATM) strategy as a strategy that can encourage the country to move into mechanization and commercialization.
“We need to emphasize the ATM strategy so that we move from subsistence farming to commercialization.
“Smallholder farmers can be in groups and cooperatives and be empowered so that we can have more products and then add value to such products. We have industries across the country for the products,” he said.
He said it has been tough for Malawi with the effects of climate change hence the need for deliberate efforts on irrigation.
According to President Chakwera, all the irrigation schemes that were no longer functional have been resuscitated, and new ones have been built. with the help of the World Bank, Malawi expects to have one of the largest irrigation schemes in Southern Africa.
Chakwera assured the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that he would make sure that agriculture becomes a big business in Malawi by utilising water from Lake Malawi for irrigation and creating more mega-farms to address El Niño, which brought hunger in Malawi.
About 5.7 million people this year have been affected by hunger.
FAO Director General QU Dongyu thanked President Chakwera for his commitment to addressing issues of climate change, thereby averting hunger.
Dongyu said they are committed to supporting Malawi in irrigation.
