Malawi adopts 10-year national fertilizer plan to improve agriculture
The Malawian government has taken giant strides toward improving its agricultural fortunes with the adoption of a 10-year Action Plan on Fertiliser and Soil Health.
The move comes under a bigger continental framework adopted at the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
President Lazarus Chakwera said the plan will cost the country approximately $163 million. It will improve soil productivity in the country, ultimately translating to making healthy and fresh agricultural produce.
“We want to improve soil productivity and reduce [cases of’ soil degradation and soil erosion. In so doing, we will reverse the negative trend in the deterioration of our soil health through a set of interventions that have been outlined in the action plan….Through our action plan, we will implement the continental fertilizer and soil health action initiative and others aimed at improving soil productivity. Through our action plan, Malawi will take her place in the world as a food basket for all the countries in the world that do not have the arable land, freshwater, and agricultural human capital we have,” President Chakwera was quoted by The Times Group.
He further noted that the move is an investment towards addressing soil health issues in the country.
“Malawi has not been spared from the crisis of degraded soils and we are seeing the consequences of the same through the diminishing harvests that are obtaining year in and year out. My government has therefore, taken a special interest in addressing soil health issues and we will soon be piloting a programme to address the high acidity levels in the soils of certain parts of Malawi with the aim of quickly scaling up the same to other parts,” he said.
