AGCOM disburses K2.1bn grants to 46 Cooperatives

Farmers in the country are on course to commercialize agriculture with support from the Agricultural Commercialization (AGCOM) Project as 46 Producers Organizations (POs) received dummy cheques of over Mk2.1 billion for the procurement of capital assets.

A total of 46 Productive Alliances from 8 districts in the central region went away smiling after receiving dummy cheques for grants of various amounts from Agriculture Commercialization (AGCOM) project to boost the cooperative’s various businesses.

The event was held at Mtunthama Extension Planning Area (EPA), in TA Wimbe in Kasungu, and the agricultural productive alliances were drawn from Mchinji, Ntcheu, Dedza, Lilongwe, Nkhotakota, Dowa, Ntchisi, and the host, Kasungu.

Principal Secretary (PS) for Agriculture, Sandram Maweru, described the exercise as a positive indication that AGCOM, a US$95m Malawi Government project with a credit facility from World-Bank which aims at boosting commercial farming and value addition, is on track.

The PS observed that farmers have shown eagerness to venture into serious agri-business by coming up with good business ideas through concept notes they submit to AGCOM.

“AGCOM only gives grants to proposals that make business sense and from what we’ve seen so far, the farmers have got very good business ideas and concepts,” explained the PS.

He added that by promoting commercialization, AGCOM ensures that farmers go into business ventures through matching grant support.

“We’re looking at market orientation: we don’t produce without finding the market first,” said Maweru, adding, “So the farmers are responding to the needs of the market that is readily available.”

Secretary for Agriculture said that Ministry of Agriculture through AGCOM is promoting commercialized farming to help farmers graduate from subsistence to commercial farming for increased agriculture production and productivity.

Maweru added that the presentation of dummy cheques to 46 POs is an indication that farmers in the country are progressing in agribusiness.

“This clearly shows that farmers in Malawi are progressing and the interventions that AGCOM is doing will bear fruits at the end of the day.”

AGCOM National Coordinator, Dr. Ted Nakhumwa, concurred with the PS saying the project is “quite on track” and that they have so far achieved some of the project target indicators.

According to Nakhumwa, the Project has established 212 Productive Alliances, which is way past the set target of 200 alliances.   

He said out the 212 alliances, 150 are the ones which have managed to fulfil all the requirements of accessing matching grants.

“In addition to a sound business proposal, the cooperatives are also supposed to make a contribution before we make our contribution in form of a grant,” explained Nakhumwa, adding: “So the 150 cooperatives are the ones that have paid their 30% matching contributions.”

So far, from the US$30m of the Project that was meant for building the capacities of the Productive Alliances, US$16.67 (K13.7bn) has been committed to the cause, according to the National Project Coordinator.

One of the Productive Alliances, Changu Producers and Marketing Cooperative, which is located at Kapinya Village, TA Wimbe, in Kasungu got K30.7m grant to boost their farming enterprise which they used to procure a K42 million farm tractor, and attaching tools like plough and ridger.

Chairperson of Changu Cooperative, Hojex Julius Manyamba, whose cooperative received a dummy cheque at the event said the support will boost production within the cooperative and farmers’ lives will tremendously change for the better.

The POs which received the support are into production of different agricultural value chains such as dairy, seed multiplication, livestock, horticulture and legumes.

Also present at the event was the parliamentarian of the area who is also the First Deputy Speaker of National Assembly, Honorable Madalitso Kazombo who, in his remarks, emphasized the need for value addition by the farmers.

“Our farmers need now to be adding value to their products. When we sell our products in raw form we don’t realize enough. We don’t sell at good prices when we export raw products,” he said.