New Hope for Malawi’s Farmers as AGCOM II Launches to Modernise Agriculture
Financed by a $390M grant from the World Bank, GAFSP, FS2030 and MDTF, AGCOM II targets national productivity and food system resilience, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
By Denis Mzembe
For decades, Malawi’s agriculture sector has been dominated by subsistence and primitive farming methods despite being the main strategic sector for the country’s economic growth.
However, the establishment of the Agriculture Commercialisation Project has brought hope to most farming families in this land locked Southern African State.
AGCOM II/MFSRP was launched, as a successor to the Agricultural Commercialisation (AGCOM I) project, to spearhead national agricultural productivity and commercialisation in the country with a focus on strengthening the resilience of food systems in line with the Malawi 2063 agenda.
The program is financed through a US$ 390 million grant from the World Bank, Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), Food Systems 2030 (FS2030), and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), says Ministry of Agriculture Public Relations Officer, Salome Gangire.
Key interventions include matching grants to finance productivity-enhancing capital assets for farmer groups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), farmer capacity building, agricultural research and innovation development, construction of four medium-to-large scale irrigation schemes, digital agriculture through development and upscaling of systems, land reforms implementation, strategic infrastructure development, food systems mainstreaming in national and regional policy making, and contingent emergency response during severe food shortages, says Gangire.
Under AGCOM I between 2018 to 2024, 365 farmer groups were supported with a total investment of about MWK 28.30 billion, reaching 73,360 farmers (41,715 women, 31,645 men, and 22,193 youth).
AGCOM II, significant contributions in enhancing the country’s agricultural productivity and commercialization have been made.
“To date, 463 Productive Alliances have been awarded matching grants, of which 290 producer organisations and 41 SMEs are under implementation,” she says.
The matching grants are financing capital assets such tractors, processing facilities, modern livestock housing, improved livestock breeds, warehouses, cold storage, milk bulking facilities, just to mention a few.
Over US$ 14.4 million has been disbursed to date through the facility, reaching 50,049 farmers and 58 percent of them being women.
“Additionally, construction processes for three mega irrigation schemes are underway at Lembani, Bwanje, and Mpamba irrigation schemes. Construction of the Malawi Bureau of Standards Secondary laboratory in Lilongwe is at 80 percent completion, while rehabilitation of the Mbelwa and Lunzu residential training centres stands at 80 percent and 38 percent, respectively,” Gangire says.
Currently, she adds, procurement processes for contractors to construct the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) and Seed Storage facility at Chitedze are also underway. The program is also constructing eleven land registries in Lilongwe, Salima, Ntchisi, Ntcheu, Mangochi, Phalombe, Chiradzulu, Mwanza, Neno, Karonga and Rumphi districts.
Contractors, she says, were hired and are on the ground, with completion expected by November 2026.
“Under digital agriculture, the program is supporting the upscaling of the National Agriculture Management Information System (NAMIS) and Land Information Management System (LIMS). About 3.5 million farmers were registered in the digital farmer registry under NAMIS while the LIMS has been used to register about 130,000 customary land parcels to date,” Gangire adds.
Development of the Automated Cooperative Registry system is ongoing and on track to be completed by July 2026.
Furthermore, the project engaged a consultant who has completed the development of the system requirements and terms of reference for the digital Virtual One-Stop Service Centre (OSSC).
Under the Soil Health Pilot Project, during the 2024/25 season, the program supported 23,976 farmers with soil health management training and 1,598.4 metric tonnes of inorganic fertilizer, 799.2 metric tonnes organo-mineral fertilizer, 799.2 metric tonnes of lime, and 360 metric tonnes of legume seed. During the 2025/26 season, the pilot project supported 21,933 farmers with 630.04 metric tonnes of NPK, 517.40 metric tonnes of Urea, 639.90 metric tonnes of organo-mineral fertilizer, 146.20 metric tonnes of lime, and 77.50 metric tonnes of legume seed, she adds.
Gangire says under land reforms, a total of 37,483 customary land parcels were adjudicated and demarcated to enhance land tenure security for the producer organisations. Under contingency emergency response, AGCOM II procured 56,224.95 metric tonnes of maize, which was distributed to 955,466 households to support the government’s lean season response between the 2024 and 2025 season.
Currently the Ministry intends to sustain and scale up the gains achieved under AGCOM II by integrating successful interventions into its mainstream programmes and policies.
“Key priorities will include continued support to farmer organizations and cooperatives, promotion of agricultural commercialization, expansion of irrigation infrastructure, strengthening agricultural value chains, enhancement of digital agriculture systems, and promotion of climate-resilient agricultural practices.
“The Ministry will also continue mobilizing resources from Government, development partners and the private sector to ensure continuity of critical investments initiated under AGCOM II,” Gangire says.
The current programme, AGCOM II is approaching its midterm of implementation, according to Gangire with scheduled phase out in 2029.
“As such, the ministry and other implementing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) aims to fast-track implementation of the program’s flagship interventions including the construction of the mega irrigation schemes, supporting more farmer groups, enhancing value addition, supporting development of seed systems, and adoption of resilience-enhancing practices and technology.
“As part of sustainability, the program is building capacity of the Ministry at all levels, to provide support to the cooperatives beyond the project,” she says.
The ministry of Agriculture, according to Gangire, has encountered several challenges in the implementation of the AGCOM II program, including, among others, foreign exchange shortages which is affecting importation of farm machinery, processing machines, and construction materials, and delays in electricity connectivity to some of the groups that AGCOM is supporting, including delays by farmers in mobilising cash contribution (10 percent) for the matching grants.
“However,theMinistry remains committed to ensuring that AGCOM II delivers lasting benefits to Malawian farmers and contributes meaningfully to the country’s agricultural transformation agenda. We are grateful for the continued support from our development partners, implementing institutions, the private sector and farming communities.
“Through collective effort and sustained investment, we are confident that the programme will continue to strengthen food systems, improve livelihoods, create employment opportunities and contribute towards the realization of Malawi 2063. We encourage all stakeholders to remain committed to the successful implementation and sustainability of the programme’s,” adds the Ministry’s publicist.
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