Malawi has received first consignment of 47,000 metric tons of maize to feed approximately 3 million people, representing 687,000 households in 15 districts, Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale, disclosed this in Limbe, Blantyre Thursday afternoon at a press briefing.
Kawale said Malawi purchased 47,693 metric tons of maize from Tanzania at a cost of $35 million, stating that the government is committed to feed households that are food insecurefood insecure following devastating natural disasters that affected Malawi for three consecutive years.
The minister made the remarks at the World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Limbe, saying the Malawi Government purchased the maize in Tanzania with the World Bank support.
“As of today, we have received the first batch of 47,000 metric tons of maize. By the end of March we will receive the remaining metric tons,
“The trucks you see offloading here are part of a convoy of 70 trucks carrying 2,000 metric tons of maize dispatched from Tanzania just a few days ago,” the minister added.
He assured the public that maize distribution will commence immediately to prevent affected communities from consuming their prematurely planted crops.
Kawale added that the government continues to implement agricultural reforms aimed at helping farmers transition from the Affordable Inputs ProgrammeAffordable Inputs Programme (AIP) to commercial farming through initiatives such as the farm input loan programme by the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) and the Agricultural Commercialization (AGCOM) project.
He said that the Malawi Government aspires to achieve food sovereignty through various agricultural reforms, including the establishment of mega farms.
The minister highlighted that the recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) also underscored the government’s commitment to provide relief to victims of drought and other natural disasters.
Minister of Information and Digitalization, Moses Kunkuyu stated that food security remains a top priority of the Malawi Government and urged the media to raise public awareness to discourage beneficiaries from selling the relief maize to vendors on the market.
He also expressed gratitude to the WFP for efficiently handling the logistical aspects of the initiative.
Kunkuyu urged Malawians farmers to venture into mega farming and join farm clubs to ensure sustainable food and nutritional securing in Malawi.
WFP, Malawi Country Director, Simon Denhere confirmed that Malawi had received the first batch of the maize purchased in Tanzania with additional consignments expected to arrive in Malawi by the end of March.
Denhere stated that WFP is honored to assist the government of Malawi in its feeding programs thereby helping to bridge the gap in food insecurity.
He therefore commended the Ministry of Agriculture for its proactive initiative, expressing hope that this will save many Malawians from hunger caused by recurring droughts and changing weather patterns.
Denhere also thanked the World Bank through Malawi Food System and Resilience Project (MFSRP) and Resilient Climate ResponseClimate Response Project (RCRP) for the funding saying their commitment is a testament of power of collaboration.
The maize distribution will be overseen by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA), which will work with district councils to identify and assist affected households.
Among the districts set to benefit from the initiative are; Nsanje, Mangochi, Neno, Blantyre and Chikwawa.