By Vida Msiyo

Blantyre, December 18, Mana: Minister of Trade and Industry, Sosten Gwengwe, has expressed satisfaction over Bencal Technologies specialization on a number of areas, emphasizing the importance of local expertise in reducing reliance on foreign services.

Bencal Technologies is a firm, which specializes in the calibration of industrial plant instruments, laboratory equipment and medical equipment to appreciate local expertise.

Gwengwe made the remarks in Blantyre on Tuesday during a tour of local companies in the city.

He said firms such as Bencal Technologies are important in imparting skills especially to young people.

“We see young people here with skills, calibration of equipment which is something we always source from the region. Having young Malawians who are able to do this work and are properly certified locally saves a lot of time and money for our business community,” he said. 

Bencal Technologies Managing Director, Sinai Mwagomba, hailed the minister’s visit a saying it is a sign of growing recognition for their services. 

“The visit means that our services are being recognized in the country. We have substituted a lot of services that we used to import from other countries and now we are saving forex by doing this work locally,” he said. 

The Minister’s tour was meant to spotlight on local businesses that are driving innovation and contributing to Malawi’s economic growth. 

Apart from touring Bencal Technologies, Gwengwe also visited Rural Development Investment Initiative Trust (RUDEVIT) at Chileka in Blantyre where he appreciated construction of an organic fertilizer plant.

Gwengwe observed that, upon completion, the plant is expected to make organic fertilizer from industrial and other waste materials.

He, therefore, commended RUDEVIT for its innovation and intention in granulated organic fertilizer manufacturing saying this will reduce over dependency on imported chemical fertilizers.

“This is impressive. When we start making fertilizer locally, it will have huge impact on our deficit because we spend a lot on importing fertilizer.

“The more we produce fertilizer that suits our own soils the more we reduce our appetite for imports and this will be a good thing for Malawi,” he said.

He observed that reducing fertilizer imports will allow the country save its foreign exchange for other critical purposes.

RUDEVIT Executive Director, Hastings Bofomo Nyirenda, said the organic fertilizer plant will use locally sourced waste materials, adding that this will make the fertilizer both affordable and accessible to farmers.

“Since the fertilizer will be made from materials sourced within the country, it will be affordable to farmers. Once completed, the machinery will be able to produce 60 bags of fertilizer per hour,” he disclosed.

The granulated organic fertilizer project at Chileka is expected to boost agricultural productivity while contributing to Malawi’s economy.