Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale has challenged Malawians to take advantage of the Agricultural Commercialization (Agcom) initiative to set up agri-businesses and help implement the government’s job creation agenda.

The Minister said this when was handling over cheques worth  K6.5 billion to 40 cooperatives from 13 districts across the country in bid to boost agri-businesses of groups whose concepts were approved under phase one of the project.

In November last year, President Lazarus Chakwera launched phase 2 of the World Bank –funded project, is premised on transforming smallholder agriculture from mostly subsistence to commercial status.

The project is helping the government meet goals of the agriculture transformation agenda, which is in the Malawi 2063 vision” said Kawale.

Kawale said through Agcom, they want to see that farmers are transformed. That is why over K600 billion will be disbursed to cooperatives in the coming few years.

He concluded that through programmes such as Agrcom as well as the Mega farms initiative, Malawi will soon be food secure and generate enough income.

Ted Nankhumwa Agrcom National Coordinator encouraged community members across the country to apply for grants by forming value addition groups with a minimum of 20 members each.

Through Agcom 1, which phased out last year, livelihood of most farmers in the country changed “said Nankhumwa.

He concluded that if a cooperative is approved, they are asking them to contribute 10 percent of their project total in cash and, then, they have to contribute 20 percent in king while the rest is provided by them. This is not a loan it is a grant meant to uplift the lives of people in this country.