By Leonard Masauli

Lilongwe, March 15, Mana: The Energy and Agri-energy delivery Lab meeting in Lilongwe has hinted on the high pricing of solar materials importation, saying this is affecting agricultural production.

In a closing ceremony of a nine-day meeting on Thursday under Presidential Delivery Unit, the Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Janet Banda said farmers are not able to buy solar equipment and other materials due to prices.

“In this Agro-energy lab, what we were looking for was affordability and sustainability of solar equipment especially that is used in the agricultural sector. What we have noted is that equipment is very expensive, and farmers are not able to buy proper equipment and they end up buying equipment which is not certified.

“Secondly, most people using solar equipment are not trained and for that reason when the equipment breaks down maintenance becomes a challenge. And as a solution we have agreed as a lab to lobby treasury in the next budget to revise VAT attached to solar equipment so that it is affordable to farmers,” said Banda.

Representative of cooperative- solar users in Malawi, Amadi Alide, said farmers face challenges in availability of equipment that can effectively be reliable and durable and as a result the farmers spend a lot of money for maintenance before they realize profits.

“Government has put a waiver on solar equipment but when our solar have malfunctioned the VAT charged to procure spares are exorbitant which denies us farmers to fix our equipment hence affecting our agricultural work,” said Alide.

The Agri-energy Delivery Lab was organized by Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) with financial support from Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP)