By Sanenje Nkhani
Youth Action for Development (YASD) says it is set to take a step-in turning Vision 2063 of making the country agricultural-economic reliant by ensuring that farmers are accessing and utilizing fertilizer through promotion of synthetic and organic fertilizer.
YASD is manufacturing and training farmers on how to produce fertilizer in the country using innovative approach to stimulate the use of organic fertilizers which has been underutilized nor adopted by the local farmers for decades.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency on Tuesday, YASD Director, Edward Chidombe Msiska said farmers in the rural or peri-urban communities continue to experience food insecurity and hunger because of rising costs of farm inputs like fertilizer though the country has all required materials which can be utilised in making fertilizer.
“We are training farmers especially women and youth on how they can manufacture organic fertilizer using locally available resources like, manure, ash, maize husks (gaga) and this will help to boost Malawi’s agriculture industry through increased agricultural production and productivity,” said Msiska.
He added that over 700 farmers are directly benefitting from the initiative and about 550 youths and women in Mchinji, Dedza, Mponera and Lilongwe have been trained on how to manufacture and process this alternative fertilizer.
Meanwhile, Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) President Manesi Nkhata, said fertilizer is among Malawi’s top imports hence local manufacturing of the same would reduce import bill for fertilizers that drains country’s forex thereby making a saving on forex reserves.
“We should not only focus on chemical fertilizer alone but rather the country should also promote organic fertilizers and good agriculture practices like sustainable soil and water management.
“The country loses more than 20 tonnes per hectare of top soil annually due to soil erosion. Incorporation of soil conservation agriculture practices will therefore help to preserve soil nutrients,” he said.
Nkhata then said local fertilizers will reduce the price of fertilizers thereby enabling more farmers to apply fertilizers at the recommended rates which will eventually result in increased agriculture productivity as per the aspirations of the Malawi 2063.