JB declares: Malawi’s time to recoup, stand out has arrived

The ever buoyant Malawian President Joyce Banda on Thursday told her people time has come for the country to pull through and gleam after years of sailing in rough tides.

Banda, who is this week celebrating 100 days of her presidency, was speaking in the outskirts of the capital Lilongwe when she officially launched the Feed the Future Initiative supported by the US
government.

The new initiative, one of US President Barack Obama’s flagships, aims to support the government and people of Malawi to achieve and enhancefood security and agricultural diversification.

President Banda has hit the ground for Malawi recovery,. Photo by Amanda Chiliro/Nyasa Times

In Malawi, the initiative will benefit over 270 000 households in seven districts through various agricultural and nutrition interventions.

Bounce back

President Banda said Malawians have suffered enough and it was now time to recover from the pain and shine to the world.

“Malawi’s time to bounce back and shine has arrived,” said the president amid cheers.

“With God’s support we will together accelerate growth and transformation process which will move Malawi from a least developed country to a shining star of the world.”

The President, however, said for the efforts to come into fruition Malawians need to unite and work together.

She observed that the US Government’s selection of Malawi to be among the few countries to benefit from the Feed the Future Initiative was a manifestation that the country was moving towards becoming another world shining nation.

President Banda said the initiative was a very appropriate agricultural program in Malawi as its aims correspond closely with the goals of her government as outlined in the Malawi Development Growth
Strategy, Presidential Initiative for Poverty and Hunger Reduction as well as the Agricultural Sector Wide Approach (ASWAP).

Implementation

In Malawi, the Feed the Future Initiative, whose priority commodities include dairy, ground nuts and soya beans, will be implemented in Lilongwe, Mchinji, Dedza, Ntcheu, Balaka, Machinga and Mangochi .

However, during the first year of the implementation, activities will be focused in Lilongwe, Mchinji and Dedza district.

The president said she was pleased to learn that the program will not only assist farmers to access seeds finance and other inputs for production but will also take a comprehensive approach to support
increased competitiveness of the entire commodity supply chain by partnering with traders, private sector, government and exporters to raise quality and standards of agricultural products.

“And for Malawi to be competitive in the regional and global market we must take a comprehensive value chain approach to agricultural development,” she said.

Feed the Future Initiative will also facilitate farmers and private sector to work together to ensure that a profitable and reliable market for dairy, ground nuts and soya beans exist.

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