Controller of Agricultural and Extension services in the Ministry of agriculture Dr Alfred Mwenefumbo on Tuesday urged farmers in the country to plant draught resistance varieties as one way of ensuring Malawi's attainment of food security.
Dr Mwenefumbo said this in Kasungu during the commemoration of the Reduction of Food Loss and Waste in Malawi which was held under the theme Zero Food Loss and Waste in the Face of Climate Change: Key to Food Security.
The event which was held for the first time in Malawi aims at raising awareness, fostering collaboration, and promoting sustainable food management practices to enhance food security nationwide.
Speaking during the function, Mwenefumbo said the function is very important and said the Ministry and Luanar will be holding such commemorations every year.
Talking about the use of modern varieties Mwenefumbo they are so effective and withstand draught and helps country attain food security.
Mwenefumbo commended stakeholders for organizing the event saying the Government will fully support the initiative.
"The reason we are having this conversation is that globally the world loses 1.3 billion metric tons due to post harvest loss. And in Malawi here, we lose 30% of our harvest due to post harvest losses. And what is it? When we say post harvest loss? What are things that contribute to that? There are many many factors and we will be discussing such factors and creating solutions," he said.
He said the post harvest losses start with actual harvesting the inefficiencies that we have in the field.
He said as a country we are so much dependent on manual labor. "And if you have a big farm, and you have limited people to do the harvesting, by and large, you lose even 10% of your harvest to inefficiencies, because manual labor is not efficient. So what we are encouraging people is to invest in combine harvesters," he said.
He said as a country we have all levels of harvesters and they are already here in the country.
"They are not that expensive if you're a serious farmer. Take time to look around and invest in a harvester. You can get one in as less as 1 million," he said.
Mwenefumbo has since urged Malawians to preserve well all their harvested crops to avoid post harvest losses.
Speaking earlier Senior Chief Chidzuma commended Government for the role played in making sure Malawi attains food security.
The chief cited the example of Agriculture Input Program as main intervention as well as mega farms.
In his speech Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) Vice Chancellor Professor Emmanuel Kaunda urged Malawians to safeguard against food wastage. He said Malawi harvest enough food but taking care of the food is a problem.
"We sometimes have a good harvest. People work very hard. But at the end of the day after the harvest food, or the harvest is not well taken care of. As a result, we have a lot of food losses and we end up having to be food insecure. The harvest doesn't reach the next season by December or the food is gone," he said.
He urged Malawians to take care of what we have harvested. He said if we take care of it. It can take us a number of days.
Noela Kamwendo who is Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Coordination specialist said the day is very crucial in as far as food security to the country is concerned.
She said this day will help to raise awareness on the importance of guarding against food wastage.
Source - https://www.nyasatimes.com
