(NYASATIMES) Malawi’s agricultural reforms are starting to pay dividends

Malawi’s agricultural reforms are starting to pay dividends
By Nyasa Times
Published: November 22, 2009

Malawi’s agricultural growth since the signing of the Maputo Declaration in 2003 has been impressive, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) Business Foundation chairperson Dr Reuel Khoza has said. The Maputo Declaration advocated self-
reliance, particularly in food security.

“Malawi has, since 2005, registered a food surplus production boosted by the agricultural input subsidy programme.

“The government is allocating about 12% of the annual budget towards agricultural development, instead of the 10% prescribed by the Maputo Declaration. The President of Malawi, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, has transformed the country 
from [one characterised by a] perpetual 
deficit of food to one of food sufficiency,” Khoza told the Nepad Business Foundation last week.

He added that this was an example for South Africa and the rest of the African continent to emulate.

“The revamped agricultural sector has led to a reduction in the number of people living under the poverty line from 60%, in 2004, to 40%, in 2008.“

It is industriousness that will lead to self-reliance and restore to Africa self-respect in our humble submission.”

Malawi Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Steven Kamwendo (pictured), pointed out that the country’s development agenda was focused 
on nine priorities that had the potential to trans-
form the country from poverty to prosperity.

The priorities included agriculture, a greenbelt initiative, climate change, education, 
science and technology, energy, mining, industrial development and transport infrastructure.

The greenbelt initiative is an irrigation project that seeks to develop a million hectares of land to boost food production.

“If these priorities are implemented, they will open up investment opportunities for the private sector,” said Kamwendo.

Malawi has, in the past five years, achieved a gross domestic product growth of 7,5% on average. Last year, the economy had a robust growth of 9,7%, in comparison with 8,6% in 2007.

Kamwendo stated that the growth rate surpassed the 6% target set by the Southern African Development Community.

He added that the country had maintained a single-digit inflation rate.

“Our President has a vision of transforming Malawi from a begging country to a self-reliant one, by transforming our mindsets [so that we] think in terms of producing and 
exporting, as opposed to importing.”

Malawi has been forecast to be one of 
the fastest-growing economies in the world, second to Qatar.

“Our investment policies focus on the freedom to invest in any sector with no restriction on ownership, size of the investment, or destination of the final product. 
“We believe that the private sector is the hub of the growth of the economy and every investor has to be treated equally, whether local or foreign,” said Kamwendo.

He noted that the country has since placed emphasis on developing sound infrastructure in terms of transport, energy and telecommunications in order to attract investments. 
In this regard, Malawi was continuing to build efficient infrastructure and the government had embraced the private sector through public–private partnerships to attract services 
in the water and energy sectors.

Kamwendo invited investors to invest in all the sectors single-handedly or through joint ventures with Malawians.—