Tag archives: agriculture

27 Malawians receive scholarships from IIE under Agricultural Transformation Initiative: Some at Michigan University, others at North Carolina

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Twenty-seven Malawians have been awarded scholarships by the Institute of International Education (IIE) under their Agricultural Transformation Initiative Fellowship and Scholarship Fund (ATI FSF). The aim of the ATI FSF is to strengthen the capacity of researchers and professionals in Malawi in high-priority fields that will help the country transform its agricultural sector by reducing […]

Read full story — 27 Malawians receive scholarships from IIE under Agricultural Transformation Initiative: Some at Michigan University, others at North Carolina

Minister Lowe hails Pyxus Agriculture for promoting legumes production

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Agriculture Minister Lobin Lowe has commended Lilongwe based Pyxus Agriculture Limited for its efforts in promoting production of legumes such as groundnuts and Soya bean among others, saying the initiative will help to improve the social economic status of many smallholder farmers in the country. Lowe made the remarks on Monday this week after touring […]

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Evangelical Association Malawi to promote Mbeya manure among farmers

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Evangelical Association Malawi (EAM) is committed to promoting the use of Mbeya manure to smallholder farmers in order to improve crop yield by using locally available materials. Programme Director of EAM for the Centre, Amos Kalawe said this during field visit on Conservation Agricultural practices project being implemented in Lobi Extension Planning (EPA) in Dedza. […]

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Lowe for improved irrigation schemes, key to achieving Malawi food security

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe and his deputy Agnes Nkusankhoma on Saturday toured various developments irrigation schemes in Zomba where  the Minister  directed engineers to ensure that  they fix challenges which farmers at the Agricultural Irrigation schemes are facing to ensure food security. Speaking after touring Njala and Likangala Rice Scheme in Zomba,   Lowe said […]

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Malawi cotton production down by 70%

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Agriculture authorities say cotton production will this year decline by 70 percent which will negatively affect the country’s forex, In the recently released crop production estimates, production of the crop is expected to significantly drop from around 65000 tons last year to 20000 tons this year, a very big significant drop. The study report attributes […]

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Agriculture experts say Malawi maize production up by 17%

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Agriculture experts say maize production this year will go up by 17 per cent. This is according to the third round of crop estimates by the Ministry of Agriculture projecting that maize production. The assessment exercise shows the crop yield of 4.4million metric tonnes this year as compared to 3.7 metric tonnes realised in 2020. […]

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Lowe says agricultural transformation strategy in Malawi facing challenges

By Nyasa Times Reporter

The Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, Lobin Lowe, has admitted that the viability of the smallholder-led agricultural transformation strategy in Malawi is facing several challenges. Lowe cited low productivity, dependence on rain-fed production systems with only one growing season, and limited use of irrigation as some of the impediments. The minister made the […]

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Pula raises $6m in Series A to help derisk farmers across Africa and Asia

By Nyasa Times Reporter

African leading agricultural technology insurance company popularly known as Pula has raised $6million in Series A Fundraising activity aimed at derisking millions of smallholder farmers courtesy of TLcom Capital, with the participation of women’s World Banking. The new investment will be used to scale up operations in the company’s existing 13 markets across Africa. Currently, […]

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Pula scoops 2020 Insurtech award for supporting smallholder farmers in Africa

By Nyasa Times Reporter

African leading Agricultural technology insurance company popularly known as Pula has won the Insurtech of the year award during the 6th Annual African Insurance awards that recently took place in Lagos, Nigeria. Pula develops and deploys crops and livestock insurance to smallholder farmers and the award is the recognition of how the company has managed […]

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2 agricultural cooperatives presented with trucks under commercialisation project

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Two Southern Region cooperatives, Shire Highlands Milk Producers (SHMPA) and Minyali Cotton Farmers, were on Thursday presented with a  truck each under government-funded Agriculture Commercialisation (AGCOM) project. The farmers asked for the funding to ease challenges they face in transporting their produce to various markets and also received more funds for the SHMPA farmers to buy […]

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Centre for Agriculture Transformation urges small scale farmers to embrace diversification

By Nyasa Times Reporter

The Centre for Agriculture Transformation (CAT) has encouraged small scale farmers in the country to take livelihoods diversification seriously describing it as a potential source of foreign exchange earnings and that farmers themselves can also have an alternative source of income. Speaking during  the  business incubation partnership cocktail at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in […]

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Pyxus Agriculture Ltd urges Malawi tobacco farmers to diversify to beat food insecurity, financial stability

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Pyxus Agriculture Limited – a sister company of Alliance One Tobacco Malawi Limited – has advised smallholder tobacco farmers in Dowa to consider diversifying their agricultural produce in order to beat perennial hunger and financial problems in their families. Apparently, the company is promoting crop diversification among smallholder tobacco farmers through provision of drip irrigation […]

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Golomoti and Ntakataka farmers applauds Agriculture Transformation Initiative for life changing interventions

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Over 300 hundred farmers in the area of traditional Authority Kachindamoto in Dedza district are all smiles as they have started enjoying the benefits from irrigation schemes that were constructed by Farmers union of Malawi (FUM) with funding from Agriculture Transformation Initiative (ATI). Under ‘Rebuilding Smallholder farmers Livelihoods through agriculture recovery project’ ATI provided 250 […]

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MwAPATA calls for political will to develop Malawi agriculture:  ‘borrow a leaf from Ethiopia’

By Nyasa Times Reporter

An agriculture policy think-tank, Malawi Agriculture Policy Advancement and Transformation Agenda (MwAPATA) executive director, William Chadza, has said Malawi needs political if the country is to achieve meaningful transformation in the agriculture sector. MwAPATA Institute is an independent agricultural policy think tank, which formed in 2019 and is currently engaging the Government of Malawi, private sector, and civil society stakeholders […]

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End of Malawi importation of South Afrrica horticultural produce: Harvest of innosselia-greenbelt KIA greenhouses begin

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Harvesting and selling of produce from Inosselia Agro and Green Belt Authority (GBA) greenhouse-based vegetable farm at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) in Lilongwe, is starting this week–finally ending Malawi’s reliance on horticultural produce imported from South Africa. Tal Amit–an Israeli agronomist who is the manager at the farm–disclosed this when some top government officials led […]

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Malawi farmers get over K580 million in soya beans sales 

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Farmers in the country, working in various cooperatives across the country, have generated US$773 536 (about MK587 887 360) for selling 1 793 metric tons in a project aimed at supporting farmers’ livelihoods and strengthening local agricultural economies being orchestrated by The Clinton Foundation and its partner Africa Improved Foods (AIF). Malawi has for sometime […]

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Chakwera says Malawi now open for agro-business: AIP programme  injection for economic  drive

By Nyasa Times Reporter

President Lazarus Chakwera has described the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) as an injection that would drive the country’s economy. He was speaking at Pirimiti Boys Primary School in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Mwambo in Zomba on Saturday during the launch of the much-awaited K160 billion farming programme. Chakwera said the country has been […]

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Malawi agriculture policy advancement institute Mwapata officially launches

By Nyasa Times Reporter

Malawi Agriculture Policy Advancement and Transformation Agenda (MwAPATA) Institute, an independent agricultural policy think tank formed in 2019, has officially been launched at a grand event that took place at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Thursday. Speaking during the function, which was presided over by Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe, MwAPATA Board […]

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