Photo: Flickr | T. Samson/CIMMYT
The ADF board said the objective of the support grant was for Malawi to implement a national programme to reform the agriculture sector and increase efforts to combat climate change.
This followed the devastating impact of El Niño-induced floods and drought, which have destroyed harvests and caused hunger to soar to crisis levels in the country.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme and previously called for increased international support for the government and people of Malawi.
According to reliefweb.com, the drought has severely affected this season’s maize harvest and about 40% of the population could be facing acute hunger by the end of year because of the drought.
In addition, about 14 000 people have been displaced by floods and landslides in the northern part of the country. The Malawian government consequently declared a national disaster in March 2024.
The ADF said its Agricultural Productivity and Marketing Programme was designed to catalyse economic growth and ensure food security within Malawi. It would optimise effectiveness, transparency and answerability in the agriculture sector’s expenditure. The objective further was to strengthen disaster awareness and climate resilience measures.
“The funds will support the development of a farmer registration module and the rollout of a national agricultural management information system. Targeted reforms include improving public financial management systems, particularly regarding agricultural sector contracts” said Macmillan Anyanwu, the African Development Bank’s country manager for Malawi.
“This budget support operation is timely, as it comes when Malawi is facing unprecedented macroeconomic challenges. We encourage the government to ensure effective implementation of the programme to help tackle some of the binding constraints to commercialisation of agriculture and increasing agricultural productivity.”
Anyanwu said the initiative aligned strategically with efforts to inspire private-sector investments in agriculture, thereby increasing efficiency, value-adding and exportation volume.
