Government through the Minister of Agriculture, Sam Kawale says it is encouraging that 15,000 people have accessed 17 billion Kwacha in National Economic Empowerment Fund Limited – NEEF loans.
Kawale said this while visiting National Economic Empowerment Fund Limited – NEEF (NEEF) beneficiaries to assess the progress and impact made, together with Minister of Finance, Simplex Banda, and Minister of Information, Moses Kunkuyu, at Kasiya in Lilongwe.
He noted that government is carrying out AIP reforms by migrating some farmers from AIP to access NEEF loans for buying farm inputs for their agriculture business.
“From there, they graduate to agriculture commercialization and then transition to Mega Farms, where they can access higher loans for large-scale farming. This will help guarantee enough food at the household level and enough to export, thereby fulfilling Malawi Vision 2063.
“It is encouraging to see that about 15,000 people have accessed 17 billion Kwacha in NEEF loans,” he said.
He added that government is working tirelessly to put in place strategic and sustainable measures to eradicate hunger and ensure food security across the country.
Kawale also indicated that the Ministry of Agriculture is currently implementing various programmes to increase food production at both domestic and national levels through Agriculture Commercialization, Mega Farms, AIP, NEEF, and irrigation farming.
On the other hand, Minister of Finance, Simplex Chithyola Banda, highlighted that based on the evidence he has seen on the ground, he will advocate for increase budget allocation towards NEEF to ensure more farmers access the loans, as their investments have great potential to boost Malawi’s economy.
He assured people that as the Parliament budget session commences on 9th February, ADMARC will be allocated resources in good time to ensure they are able to buy produce from farmers.
In his remarks, Minister of Information and Digitalization, Moses Kunkuyu, said empowering more farmers across the country to venture into agriculture mechanization and commercialization is in line with the government’s agenda to ensure food security and build a self-reliant Malawi.
“It is very important that NEEF budget is increased and ADMARC well-equipped to procure the increased produce, ensuring that farmers benefit accordingly,” said Kunkuyu.
In her remarks, when the Ministers visited her farm, Senior Chief Khongoni, who has used her second loan of 15 million Kwacha to farm 70 hectares of different crops including maize, ground nuts, and soya, urged fellow farmers across the country to be more invested in upscaling their farming and seize the opportunity to apply for a loan from NEEF.
