International bodies pledge support to Malawi

Two international organisations have pledged to support Malawi in its efforts to improve the agriculture sector as one vital aspect of the country’s economy.

Pioneer Seed Company president Paul Schickler and founder and director of Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Osisa), George Soros, disclosed in separate interviews with the Malawi News Agency (Mana) after holding talks with President Joyce Banda at Waldorf Astoria International Hotel in New York on Tuesday.

Soros said their discussion centred on how Osisa could help Malawi in ensuring good governance through capacity building of the judicial system.

“We have discussed a wide range of subjects, but key was the issue of food security which directly leads to good governance and in the end bring positive economic results,” he said.

Soros said it is pleasing that agriculture ranks highly in Banda’s list of priorities.

Schickler said agriculture can contribute to Malawi’s social and economic improvement.

“From the meeting we had with the President, it has come out clearly that she [Banda] looks at agriculture to be a foundation for the country’s economic improvement.

“It is a fact that we have been doing business in Malawi for some time now and that the challenge remains to expand our education activities to the small-scale farmers so that they make the industry more successful,” said Schickler.