Malawi prospects on agriculture high

Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika says that through the Green Belt initiative, Malawi may export cash crops like tea on a large scale. Pic by Malawi Digest.

By Chifundo Kasambwe

Malawi State President His Excellency Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika says that this country has great prospects in as far as the agricultural sector is concerned.

The Malawian leader was speaking at Chileka International Airport on Thursday on his return from Egypt where he attended the Non-Aligned Movement summit.

In his speech soon after landing from this successful trip, Ngwazi DR Bingu wa Mutharika said the country had good prospects on agriculture.

He said through his brain child, the Green Belt initiative, Malawi was expected to eradicate hunger.

Dr Mutharika said that it was his wish to see that the country was self reliant on food.

“If dry countries like Egypt can grow crops through irrigation and be able to feed their people why not us who also are blessed with rains,” said the State President.

He said it is his wish through the Green Belt initiative that farm lands in places that are as far 20 kilometres from water sources get irrigated.

“Through the Green Belt, we expect to open at least 1 million hectares of irrigated land,” he said.

The President said that with that much land under irrigation, Malawi will be able to have bumper yields even in times of drought.

“The irrigated land under the Green Belt initiative will complement the already existing farms lands that depend on the normal rains,” he said.

The State President said that he is very optimistic that through the Green Belt initiative, Malawi will be able to export some of its main cash crops of a large scale.
He said the crops will include tobacco, maize, tea, coffee and many others.

Meanwhile, the State President disclosed that whilst in Egypt, he sold the idea of the Green Belt initiative to many world leaders and others had already shown interest.

“Djibouti is one of those countries that are interested in investing in Malawi so that they grown crops here export some to their country but Malawi earning something out of it,” he said.

Since taking over power in 2004, Malawi has become self-reliant on food under the wise and dynamic leadership of President Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika.

The development has won President Bingu wa Mutharika and Malawi different international accolades in as far as the agricultural sector is concerned.

The latest was announced three weeks ago in which Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika and Malawi won the International Yara Award for an African Green Revolution.

During the NAM summit in Egypt, Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika had an audience with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director General Jacques Diouf who every now and then countries to contact the Malawi leader to learn more tricks on agriculture to pass on this knowledge to many other countries world wide who still have challenges of hunger – Malawi Digest.