By Evance Chisiano

Blantyre, October 22, Mana:  Minister of Agriculture, Sam Kawale, emphasized the critical role agricultural research stations, such as the Bvumbwe station, must play in developing new agricultural technologies saying these innovations should lead to improved crop and livestock varieties, contributing to Malawi's long-term food and nutrition security

Kawale made the remarks at Bvumbwe Agricultural Research Station in Thyolo on Monday after touring several sections that included; soil fertility and chemistry, pesticides control, plant pathology laboratories and other test labs.

The Minister also toured macadamia, orange-fleshed sweet potato, and Irish potato early-generation seed multiplication projects, aligning with the government's efforts to make Malawi a food-sufficient nation. The focus is on shifting from subsistence farming to commercialization, which will rely on pest-resistant, high-yield crop varieties and improved livestock breeds.

“Our famers should continue to have access to high yielding food crop,” he said after a tour of several laboratories where he learnt the need to install digital equipment as opposed to current analogue equipment which mostly fails to operate due to over usage.

Kawale therefore said government will continue to work with development partners to invest much on research in line with Malawi’s aspiration of sustainable food sufficient.

He therefore called on other research stations to also concentrate on researching alternative fertilisers so that Malawi should shift from high dependence on chemical fertilisers to organic.

“We should be moving away from chemical fertilisers to organics and we want to teach farmers to make organic fertilizers. Chemical fertilisers are expensive and eating on our resources,

“Our 10 research stations should fully be invested in research that should benefit farmers,” the Agricultural Minister added, citing high yielding maize varieties that can produce many tons per hectare other than few tons at the expense of household food security.

Bvumbwe Research Station Manager, Dr. Margaret Chiipanthenga said lack of laboratory equipment and shortfall of scientific researchers remains one of major challenges at the station.

She therefore said there was need to install high tech research equipment and deployment of adequate personnel in the research laboratories for best tests that should give excellent agricultural solutions. 

Makoka Agricultural Research Station is on 287 hectares in Thyolo where a lot of research and a lot of seed multiplication is done.

Kawale was on a tour of a number of research stations such that he was expecting to tour Makoka Research Station in Zomba to appreciate research work.