Minister, stakeholders stress agro transformation

Players in the agriculture sector have agreed on the need for Malawi to transform its agriculture from a production-focused sector to a commercially-driven industry that raises incomes, creates jobs and expands exports.

The sentiments, expressed during the official opening of the three-day 22nd National Agriculture Fair in Blantyre yesterday, come on the back of declining export growth and persistent barriers facing businesses due to a myriad of challenges.

In an interview on the sidelines of the opening event, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Roza Mbilizi said it is high time Malawi changed the manner it approaches production, processes, adds value and markets agricultural commodities if it is to fulfil the agricultural commercialisation pillar of Malawi 2063 (MW2063), the country’s long-term development strategy.

MW2063 is anchored on three pillars of agricultural productivity and commercialisation, industrialisation and urbanisation. The plan launched in January 2021 seeks to transform the country into a wealthy, self-reliant and industrialised lower middle-income nation by 2030 and upper middle-income status by 2063.

Ngwira: Efficiency is

also a challenge.

| Francis Chamasowa

Mbilizi said to achieve the aspirations, focus should shift from producing more to creating greater value.

“Our goal is to translate increased production into higher incomes, stronger businesses and a more prosperous Malawi,” she said.

Her call comes at a time the export base is shrinking and limited diversification with World Bank data showing that Malawi’s exports fell by 31 percent between 2014 and 2023.

On the other hand, the number of exporting firms has also similarly declined from an average of 1 069 between 2009 and 2012 to 684 in 2024 compared to an average of 2 996 in other African countries.

The survival rate of exporters is also low, with only 20 percent of new exporters between 2006 and 2024 surviving into their second year, while just 5.8 percent made it into a third year.

Malawi’s export basket remains heavily concentrated in tobacco, which accounted for 61 percent of goods exports in 2024.

The World Bank has attributed the weakness to low production capacity, inadequate skills, limited foreign exchange and non-tariff barriers, which increase trade and transport costs and undermine the competitiveness of Malawian businesses.

But Mbilizi said government was responding to correct the situation through programmes such as the World Bank-funded Agriculture Commercialisation Project 2 which has provided grants to 425 producer organisations and 41 small businesses.

She said the Sustainable Agriculture Production Programme II is also supporting more than 700 farmer groups, while government interventions are targeting irrigation, mechanisation, processing, storage and access to market information.

Malawi is already struggling to meet export opportunities because of inadequate volumes and quality.

Malawi over the years failed to meet a 50 000-metric tonne (MT) annual export agreement with India while a $295 million annual South Sudan food export deal, including maize flour, also fell severely short of its target because some products went bad or were affected by low quality and inadequate volumes.

Sesame producers also face a similar challenge despite a guaranteed 200 000MT of export market in Japan, with low production levels limiting Malawi’s ability to take advantage of the opportunity, according to the World Food Programme.

The production gap is particularly evident in maize, where average yields of 2.1MT per hectare remain far below the 2024 National Adaptation Plan target of four metric tonnes and the estimated potential of 10MT.

While agriculture absorbs more than 10 percent of the national budget, low productivity, weak value chains and limited private-sector investment continue to constrain the sector’s contribution to exports and incomes, according to the World Bank.

Speaking separately, Limeset Industry managing director Eunice Kafwamba said high electricity tariffs and transport costs were limiting the company’s growth despite the importance of agricultural lime in improving soil health, strengthening crops and raising yields.

She said access to agricultural lime remained low among farming households, making it difficult to maximise yields and accelerate commercialisation.

Export Development Fund marketing and communication specialist Deliby Chimbalu said despite having facilities to support sectoral growth initiatives, lack of knowledge is affecting adoption.

She said the fund has debt financing, including export packaging credit to support exporters meet production and supply requirements as well as risk sharing guarantees.

Meanwhile, Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) president Ronald Ngwira said the private sector needed to move beyond simply increasing production and focus on efficiency, value addition and profitable markets.

“Our challenge is therefore not simply to produce more, but to produce efficiently, add value and connect production to profitable markets,” he said.

Ngwira, who is Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc managing director, said there were signs of progress in government’s engagement with the private sector, including efforts to remove barriers that have constrained industry.

“Winds of change are coming. Being willing to become climate resilient and sustainably producing for the export market is critical to ensure that Malawi remains on the map,” he said.

The 22nd National Agriculture Fair hosted by MCCCI is being held under the theme ‘Transforming agriculture through innovation, value addition and market linkages’. It has attracted 77 exhibitors occupying 139 booths.

Participants include agricultural input suppliers, agro-processors, farmer organisations, service providers, research institutions and livestock businesses.