By Romeo Umali
The Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) says there is a need for reforms in the agricultural sector to ensure that massive investments in the sector are not wasted.
The director of CISANET, Pamela Kuwali, said this at the CISANET open day training at the Bingu International Convention center (BICC) in Lilongwe on Thursday evening.
She emphasized that for agriculture in Malawi to change for the better, there is a need of mass investments and reforms in the agricultural sector.
“You cannot recapitalise without doing necessary things first. So the turnaround is supposed to be a process. You need to reform, because you need to ensure that if you are going to invest money, that investment is not going to be lost,” Kuwali said.
Minister of Agriculture, Lobin Lowe, who was the guest of honour said the training is an eye-opener and will bolster farming activities in the country.
“I am just impressed because it is like an eye-opener, just to show or to indicate to the government opportunities and how to deal with them. If you consider their visions it is like they are focusing on a structured market,” Lowe told journalists.
Lowe also elaborated that the Tonse Alliance government will make sure that agriculture markets, such as Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) open early before the vendors so that farmers can benefit.
One of the participants at the open-day training, Michael Gorelik, who is the Country director of Inosselia Agro, said his company wants to train Malawians in the agricultural platform because most lack professionalism and economic strength.
He also explained the importance of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) which can provide capital for investments, working in collaboration with the government and providing know-how in the private sector.
CISANET was established in 2001 and engages with the government over policy issues affecting the sector.
