President Lazarus Chakwera on Monday secured a nod from Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) which has committed to support the promotion of women and youth, technology and innovation in the prioritization of agriculture modernisation as a catalyst to food security, poverty reduction and economic growth in the country.
Writing on his Facebook page after an interface yesterday in Rome with FAO Director-General (DG), Dr. QU Dongyu, Chakwera said the driving force of the meeting still remains his MW2063 blueprint and Agriculture, Mining & Tourism (ATM) strategy.
“The MW Agenda 2063 outlines collective aspirations and goals of our people towards the year 2063. It is anchored on the three pillars of Agricultural Productivity and Commercialisation; Industrialisation; and Urbanisation,” he said.
He added that the FAO DG is alive to Malawi’s aspirations as a country and he did reaffirm his organisation’s support and technical assistance to Malawi.
“We pinned our engagement on agricultural commercialisation, mechanisation and industrialisation as a means to achieving food security for Malawi & the region,” he said.
Chakwera added that, during the meeting, he also lobbied for FAO’s technical assistance in transitioning Malawi’s farmers from smallholder subsistence farming to climate smart agriculture that can withstand the annual threat of floods and droughts.