While Malawi has made progress by becoming self-sufficient in maize and even produces enough of that grain to support exports, some two million people in the country still remain food insecure, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told a press conference.
The director-general and European Union Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs led an EU-FAO joint mission to Malawi to discuss with the Government ways to support increasing food security and sustainable agricultural production in the country.
Director-General Graziano da Silva says FAO is convinced that small-scale farmers organized in cooperatives can lift themselves out of poverty and malnutrition by improving their access to markets, buying inputs at better prices, and obtaining financial and social protection services.
“The second point is that unfortunately, Malawi still has a big number of malnourished people despite progressing in maize production. We are assisting the country and we are finding the way to promote more food programmes to tackle the poorest people and we believe that this is the way out of it.”
FAO, the EU and the Government of Malawi also agreed that sustainable land use and the rights that go with it should be part of the rural development work being done.
Donn Bobb, United Nations.

Nearly 5m homes living in food poverty as report finds shocking rise in families turning to foodbanks for help

By Solomon Mkumbwa