Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera was highly enthusiastic on Tuesday as he inaugurated the KAMA Mega Farm in Chikwawa, emphasizing that this launch signifies Malawi’s determination to significantly increase its production capacity.
Chakwera said Malawians must be ambitious and champion projects that are bold, projects that seek to produce big time such as the Mega Farm.
“And today, we are launching one such project, which is a model of the power of strategic partnership, where a cooperative of over 2000 shareholding smallholder farmers and a local company have joined hands to leverage the 1000 plus hectares here to produce big time, in the process creating hundreds of jobs and wealth for the families here,” said the President.
With this kind of farm agricultural production, the Malawi leader was very optimistic that the country will realize the Malawi 2063 agenda.
“And because we are serious about this vision, my Government has put in 70% of the resources for this project, amounting to 5.3 billion kwacha. We secured these funds as a credit facility from the World Bank. However, to the farmers of KAMA Cooperative, we as Government have given these funds as a grant, not as a loan, because I am trusting the farmers here to use the funds responsibly to produce big time. In fact, for the KAMA Cooperative farmers to access these funds, they are taking ownership of the project by making a 10% cash contribution, because they understand that these funds are a hand up, not a hand out. That is the mindset change we are looking for,” he added.
The President praised the World Bank for being a true development partner indeed.
“As a young nation, not only must we embrace this mindset of self determination and self-reliance, but we must cultivate our friendships with those who are ready to support us achieve our dreams.
“And for Malawi, one such friend is the World Bank, which availed the 95 million dollars in funding for AGCOM 1, some of which we have used to create this mega farm. As we speak, the World Bank has already made available more than triple this amount to go towards AGCOM 2. So I want to thank the World Bank, represented here by Hugh Ridell, the Country Manager, for being a trusted partner for Malawi in our quest to achieve self-reliance and self-determination.”
