Posted on June, 2, 2021 at 07:51 am
Experts and active players in the agribusiness sector on Friday converged in Lilongwe to brainstorm on how they can combat barriers to agricultural productivity and production in Malawi.
The dialogue was organized by the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) through its Department of Extension and Rural Development.
Head of the Extension and Rural Development, Professor Daimon Kambewa, said they brought the experts and entrepreneurs considering that agriculture and food systems is a complex issue; hence, they wanted all stakeholders to speak the same language on the matter.
Apparently, there is a conflict in policy making which has contributed to a mess in the policy making, he added.
Kambewa said the dialogue was therefore aimed at bringing all the ideas together so that they are richer and tackle all concerns from different sectors.
"The dialogue is an opportunity to bring together people with different perspectives so that they can talk their understanding about food and agriculture systems in the interest of trying to help them so that they can start understanding the way other people look at food systems and their systems and in the process it should influence their positions and decision about how to invest in agriculture and food systems and what policies can be developed which will help improve the country's food and agriculture systems," he said.
Director for Bunda Campus of LUANAR, Agnes Mwangwela, said the dialogue is essential considering that they also depend on farmers to produce food with which to feed the nation and also access quality raw materials for various industries.
Mwangwela, who is also an entrepreneur in food processing, conceded that failure to have organized policies is compromising production of quality products hence the dialogue is an eye opener so that entrepreneurs are able to align their products to the existing national policies.
Source: Nyasa Times