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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 64744, member: 636"] Business Agriculture Malawi, a youth-led farmers organization, has called on President Arthur Peter Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party government to sustain and expand agricultural programs from earlier administrations to meet the Malawi 2063 Vision goals for farm productivity and commercialization. Director Blessings Midian Malefula emphasized that agriculture serves as the foundation for national development and should drive economic growth, noting that the United States, the United Kingdom, and China built their prosperity through farming. The organization stressed that Malawi possesses the resources to become a regional food supplier if the administration prioritizes continuity and enhancement of key agricultural initiatives. BAGMA urged authorities to revive and properly fund research institutions like Chitedze, Bvumbwe, Kasinthula, and Makoka while regulating uncertified seeds and fertilizers entering the market. The group recommended reforming the Affordable Inputs Programme to assist only vulnerable households while redirecting resources toward commercial production, strengthening megafarms, the Greenbelt Initiative, and decentralizing the Malawi Agriculture and Industrial Investment Corporation. Malefula advocated for transforming the Megafarms Support Unit into a standalone institution promoting irrigation and mechanized farming across all regions. The organization also emphasized infrastructure development, value addition, agro-processing, and lowering prices for fertilizers, seeds, and equipment to make modern farming accessible. [/QUOTE]

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