By Patience Longwe

Lilongwe, March 4, Mana: The Director of the National Herbarium and Botanic Gardens of Malawi (NHBG), Zachariah Magombo, has lobbied for 1.1 billion kwacha to support the development of the country's botanical gardens.

Speaking during a cluster committee on Agriculture and Natural Resource on Tuesday at Parliament, Magombo emphasized the importance of having well-developed botanical gardens, citing examples from elsewhere in the world.

He noted that Malawi's botanical gardens, located in Mzimba, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu, lack basic amenities such as fences, walkways, restaurants and toilet facilities.

"The 1.1 billion kwacha funding will be used to undertake feasibility studies, develop infrastructure plans, and conduct maintenance work on the gardens," he said.

He also stressed that proper planning is essential to ensure that the infrastructure development is done correctly.

Meanwhile Co-Chair on Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee, Werani Chilenga, expressed support for the request, acknowledging the importance of national botanical gardens for the country.

"They emphasized the need for prudent use of the funds, highlighting two crucial areas, building human resource capacity and developing infrastructure around the botanic gardens," he stated.

Currently, the botanical gardens generate limited revenue, with only 85 million kwacha generated in the 2024-2025 financial year.

However, with proper funding, infrastructure development and staffing, the gardens are expected to become self-sustaining and generate their own revenue.