Malawi launches 2nd rice development strategy, JICA to support efforts to increase production
The Government of Malawi on Thursday launched the second National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS 2) with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) committing to support efforts to increase and diversify rice production in Malawi.
JICA Chief Representative, Kazuhiro Tambara said his agency recognizes the role rice crop plays in the social and economic development of not only Malawi, but many other countries across the globe.
“Rice contributes to food security since it supplements maize consumption. There has been a change in the consumption trends over theyears. Gone are the days when Malawians would consume rice on special occasions. Nowadays people consume rice almost on daily basis especially those living in urban areas rice production has also helped in improving the livelihoods of people across the entire value chain. Rice farmers in the rice producing schemes across the country live a better life from the proceeds of rice. The off-takers equally earn their living from selling rice in various urban trading centers,” said Tambara.
The JICA chief added that rice has the potential of generating foreign currency for Malawi, observing that there is high demand for our aromatic local varieties such as Kilombero and Faya within SADC region in countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana.
Tambara therefore urged Malawi to make good use of this opportunity and increase production so that we can meet the international market demands.
“There is also a need find means on how best to stop smuggling of our rice to the neighboring countries. This malpractice has over the years prevented us from earning the much-needed forex. We need to find means to channel our rice proceeds through the formal markets and reap the benefits from therein,” he said.
This notwithstanding, Tambara recommended that farmers must seriously think about diversifying into other cash crops and increase production and productivity, stressing that Malawi cannot continue relying on tobacco as its main cash crop.
He said much as tobacco continues to bring the much-needed foreign currency, it should be noted that the industry is facing challenges one of which being the anti-smoking campaign.
“Time has come for us to think beyond tobacco and consider investing in other cash crops such as rice. Diversification into other cash crops such as rice will be in line with Malawi 2063’s pillar 1: Agricultural Productivity and Commercialization,” he said.
In his remarks, the Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale expressed government’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for the rice sector to flourish, from production to marketing.
Kawale therefore expressed happiness that the strategy touches on critical areas to support the growth of the rice sector, citing mechanization and large-scale commercial production.
“Pillar 1 of Malawi 2063 discusses Agricultural Productivity and Commercialization, while Pillar 2 discusses Industrialization. Intensive investments in the rice value chain can contribute to both of these pillars, reducing poverty, increasing foreign exchange generation, facilitating import substitution, and creating employment.
“Malawi’s Kilombero rice has made a name internationally; hence, there is a need to take advantage of this by increasing production for the export market without compromising on the internationally agreed food safety standards. However, the Department of Agricultural Research has released other equally good aromatic and high-yielding varieties that have not been fully exploited. I, therefore, urge all stakeholders in the rice subsector to take up the challenge of promoting these new varieties to increase farmers’ choices in rice production,” he said.
According Kawale, about 84 percent of Malawi’s rice is produced in rain-fed environments, which puts rice production at risk with the advent of climate change. Your Ministry will strive to make significant investments in irrigation infrastructure through donor-funded Projects and government-funded programmes to increase the production of rice.
NRDS2 is a successor document to the NRDS1 which expired in 2018. Immediately after the expiration of the NRDS1, the aforementioned groups came together and started developing the NRDS2 with support from the Coalition of African Rice Development (CARD) consultant.
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