President Lazarus Chakwera says the Mega Farm Initiative which the Malawi Government is implementing will maximize agricultural productivity.
Chakwera made the remarks when he officially launched the Katunga -Maseya (KAMA) cooperative Mega Farm in Chikwawa district.
Chakwera continued to ask Malawians in the country to embrace the spirit of self-reliance and to change their mindset in order for the country to develop.
“We are called an agro-based economy yet we produce so little. We need to produce more and export more. Today we are launching a cooperative that is creating hundreds of jobs, this shows we are serious about agricultural commercialisation and that is why we are putting in K5.3 billion into KAMA Cooperative as a grant,” he said.
On his part, Minister of Agriculture, Sam Dalitso Kawale expressed satisfaction with the direction the Mega Farm initiative is taking.
Katunga-Maseya (KAMA) Cane-growers Cooperative Mega Farm covers 1, 069 hectares in Chikwawa district. About 193 members from the areas of Traditional Authorities Katunga and Maseya are expected to benefit through access to mechanised farming.
The initiative is being supported by the World Bank and the bank has confirmed that $265 million (about K270 billion) has been approved in the commercialization phase 2 to scale up the initiative.
