Malawi Aims to Boost Groundnut Production for Economic Gains
The U.S. government, through USAID's Malawi Pyxus Partnership, is also promoting adoption of groundnut farming technologies to improve yields and meet market demands.
LILONGWE, Malawi— Malawi is ramping up efforts to significantly increase groundnut production and position itself as a major global supplier of the crop, the agriculture minister said Thursday, writes Isaac Kambwiri.
Speaking at the 2024 Groundnut Tour Conference in Lilongwe, Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale said the government will implement new policies and legislation to attract investment and drive growth in the groundnut value chain.
"My ministry is working around the clock to ensure that groundnut production should be increased by a significant percentage starting from this year so that Malawi should be a trusted source of high quality groundnuts globally," Kawale said.
"Once we achieve this milestone, it means more jobs will be created and also at the same time we will be able to generate more foreign exchange from this important value chain sector."
He cited the new "Mega Farm" initiative, a collaboration between the agriculture ministry and private firms like Pyxus Agriculture Ltd., one of Malawi's largest groundnut buyers and processors.
Kawale said policies are being developed to facilitate an enabling environment for companies to invest in groundnut production and processing. Improving farmer access to financing, quality seeds, inputs and mechanization are key priorities.
"The ministry of agriculture is partnering with the private sector in order to improve the production of groundnuts in the country," he explained.
"Key among this initiative is to ensure that our farmers should be growing newly developed high-yielding varieties, be able to access financial loans which will eventually allow them to purchase inputs and mechanized farming equipment so that they can be able to cultivate the crop in large volumes and supply both local and international markets."
The three-day conference brought together global groundnut industry players from countries like the United States, Ireland, Uganda and Kenya to share knowledge, best practices and research innovations aimed at boosting the sector in Malawi and worldwide.
Pyxus Agriculture managing director Ronald Ngwira said efforts are underway to help farmers cultivate new high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties in demand on international markets.
"Due to issues of climate change which has also greatly affected the agriculture sector even here in Malawi and beyond, we are working with different key players in the agriculture sector including government to make sure that farmers in the country should be growing groundnuts varieties that gives high yields, mature early and are disease resistant because they are the ones that are in high demand on international market," Ngwira said.
The U.S. government, through USAID's Malawi Pyxus Partnership, is also promoting adoption of groundnut farming technologies to improve yields and meet market demands.
"Variety selection by the local farmers is paramount and that starts at research phase where we are working in partnership with the government of Malawi and other research stakeholders," said Jeremy Venable, chief of party for the partnership.
"We are looking at climate resilient groundnut varieties that can achieve shorter duration of maturity in order to allow the farmers to harvest them quicker and avert some of the climate shocks."
Groundnuts, also known as peanuts, are a major crop in Malawi accounting for about 25% of agricultural income. But production has faced challenges including drought, pests and lack of access to improved seed varieties.
The new government initiatives aim to address those bottlenecks and drive production higher.
Malawi says becoming a key global groundnut exporter could create thousands of jobs and boost rural incomes.