Kawale Sounds the Alarm: Malawi Must Move Beyond Maize

May 22, 2025 By Alfred Chauwa – Senior Business Analyst 3 Comments

Agriculture Minister Sam Dalitso Kawale has urged Malawian farmers to break free from maize dependency and embrace crop diversification to ensure food security and national health.

Speaking at the Regional Dialogue and Transformation Summit at BICC on Wednesday, Kawale warned that relying solely on maize is unsustainable.

“We can’t achieve food security or build a healthy nation if we keep putting all our hopes in maize,” Kawale said. “We must diversify what we grow and eat—just like developed nations that thrive by not depending on one crop.”

He called for the adoption of drought-resistant, low-input crops and the integration of diverse diets and farming systems into national strategies.

Kawale also urged international delegates to champion innovation in agriculture, especially in finding affordable alternatives to traditional fertilizers, including organic options that help restore soil health.

To truly transform agriculture, he said, African nations must shift from subsistence to commercial farming—backed by resources and support that empower farmers to grow high-value crops and move beyond survival-level production.

“The future of African farming is in producing more with less—especially as we battle climate change,” Kawale concluded.

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3 replies on “Kawale Sounds the Alarm: Malawi Must Move Beyond Maize”

  1. The minister is right. We can’t just depend upon maize as our staple food. What about cassava,sorghum,rice etc of which some are drought resistant. Mr Kawale please push on this agenda it’s important 🙏🏻.

  2. Which crops are they looking at and will they replace maize or just serve as an extension of maize production? Crops like millet and teff will for sure not do the trick because of the low yield per ha.

  3. The issue is not maize as a crop but misplacing resources. What do you expect to have if you give AIP to people who ready to sell the fertilizer instead of using it. Why not target those who have the capacity to grow maize at a large scale.

    Some years ago we had General Farming, Chamwabvi Estates, ADMARC and many more involved in growing maize. But now our focus is completely skewed by politics. Fertilizer is given to people who have no capacity and many times too late in the season.

    Mr Minister let us not blame the crop but misallocation of resources. AIP is a waste of resources.

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