President Lazarus Chakwera will on Wednesday preside over the official opening of the 2023 Tobacco Marketing Season at Lilongwe Auction Floors in Lilongwe.
According to the statement signed by the Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba, the opening ceremony will start at 9 o’clock in the morning.
Reports from Tobacco Commission indicate that about 20,000 bales have already been presented to the market, with 2600 bales expected to be sold tomorrow.
Production of the country’s main forex earner is estimated to jump to 126 million kilograms from 85 million kilograms the country produced last year, representing over 50 percent increase.
Malawian tobacco farmers are expecting good prices since ten buyers are competing for the gold leaf this year.
Chinkhoma, Limbe and Mzuzu Auction Floors will be opened on 13th, 17th April and 2nd May respectively.
Women are crucial stakeholders in agribusiness value chains around the world.
Comprising 40 percent of the global agricultural workforce and as much as 50 percent in many region women are essential to planting, cultivating, and harvesting, as well as processing, logistics, and sales.
In Malawi, women comprise 52% of population and 80% of the labor force.
Rose Chisowa
And according to 2015/16 Malawi Demographic Health Survey, 59% of employed women and 44% of employed men work in agriculture, which is the largest employment sector in Malawi. However, large gender productivity gaps in the agriculture sector remain wide. For example, farm plots managed by men produce an average of 25% higher yields than plots managed by women.
The gender gaps are due to women having unequal use of land inputs, lower access to farm labor, inadequate access to improved agricultural inputs and technology and lower participation in the cash crop/export crop value chains.
The cost of gender gaps in agricultural productivity amount to $100 million per year. Closing these gender gaps in agriculture,here is the story of Rose Chisowa.
Born into a family of four, Chisowa is the first born child and a graduate from University of Malawi ( UNIMA) with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism.
Her farm business called Rose farms started a long time ago with pig farming. With time, Chisowa decided to venture into poultry and horticulture.
“No one can survive without food, making it a vital necessity. This is the reason why we thought of being among those who feed the nation,” said Chisowa.
She said currently, she is focusing much on horticulture and egg production.
To her, horticulture has not been easy as many people may think because she meets several challenges.
“We are facing several challenges and one being failure to produce goods that are of high quality and in large quantities.
“It is something that foreign competitors have been able to achieve through mechanization and greenhouse farming,” she said.
Chisowa advised his fellow business owners that in business, it is important to start small and focus on improving the quality of their products first as this helps establish a reputation for their brand and attract customers who value quality over price.
“Once you have established a customer base, you can gradually increase production and explore ways to streamline your processes. You may also want to look into partnerships or collaborations with other businesses in order to share resources and expertise,”she said.
She added by urging her fellow farmers that it is also important to remember that success does not come overnight and it often requires patience and perseverance.
“Keep learning and exploring new opportunities, and do not be afraid to seek support from institutions like SMEDI or other organizations that can offer guidance and resources.
She then thanked Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute ( SMEDI) for making her farm grow fast.
” SMEDI has contributed immensely to our business growth. The institution has exposed our business to new customers through trade fairs which helped to expand our business. I have personally participated in several trainings in and outside of the country because of SMEDI. Yes! SMEDI also facilitated the smooth registration of Rose Enterprise,” thanked Chasowa.
Malawi police in Zomba are keeping in custody two men for alleged theft and vandalism of Southern Region Water Board (SRW) installation at Old Nice location in the district.
According to Zomba Police Deputy Public Relations Officer ( PRO) Aaron Chilala, the suspects are Frank Chinkango 32, of Nasawa village and Mazunzo Devison 28, of Chimowa village, both from Traditional Authority ( TA) Chikowi in the same district of Zomba.
Chilala said Southern Region Water Board has been experiencing theft and vandalism of water pipes for the past months within the location.
“During late hours of April 09, 2023, the Board officials got information from well wishers that Chinkango and Devison were stealing their installations at the location.
“They immediately shared the tip with the Police, who rushed to the scene and managed to arrest the suspects who were found with a sack full of pieces of cast iron pipes,” said Chilala
He said the two are expected to appear before court soon to answer charges of malicious damage and theft.
Sports Writers Association of Malawi (SWAM) and Football Journalists Association (FJA) on Monday donated clothes and other items to the people affected by the Tropical Cyclone Freddy at Nguludi in Chiradzulu district.
Over 101 displaced persons who are currently seeking shelter at Nguludi Primary School in the district have received the donation.
Apart from clothes, members from the two associations also donated shoes, plastic cups and packets of fresh milk.
The two Associations have since released a statement thanking people both from within and outside the Associations for their generous contributions towards the donation.
Over 600 people were killed and over 500,000 people were displaced following the devastating cyclone that hit the country last month.
Meanwhile, music followers have been reacting to the song on social media with many describing it as one the best songs to have come out from Malawi so far this year.
The song has been produced by Sameface and Stich Fray.
