Lack of land hampersinvestments, says FUM
Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) has urged Ministry of Lands to resolve challenges of lack of adequate prime land to accommodate tangible irrigation investments.
In a written response on Wednesday, FUM president Frighton Njolomole said most of private and public sector investments are hampered by lack of access to prime land.
His observation follows recent calls by the Green Belt Authority (GBA) seeking partnerships with private firms for massive irrigation ventures.
Said Njolomole: “Most of the land in Malawi is still controlled by chiefs through customary arrangements.
“The government should, therefore, earmark land for such irrigation investments if the projects are to go ahead.”
He said Malawi’s agriculture sector has for along time been driven by smallholder farmers who over 80 percent of the agriculture sector’s growth domestic product.
“It is for this reason that introduction of the commercial investors through the public private partnerships brings a glimmer of hope as it will significantly contribute towards commercialisation of Malawi’s agriculture sector by bringing the required scale of production with recommended use of inputs,” said Njolomole.
In a recent interview, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Kezzie Msukwa said they are carrying out a customary land registration pilot exercise to ensure that people along large irrigation projects benefit as part of resolving land access disputes.
In a statement, GBA, which trades under GBI Holdings Limited, said it plans to embark on mega irrigation and agro-processing joint venture projects to spur economic development.
The plan is in line with Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term plan, which puts agricultural production and productivity among key pillars.
To fulfil the plan, the GBA is seeking local and international investors with financial capital to venture into public private partnership.
