Chakwera Meets FAO boss
His Excellency Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, met with Dr. Qu Dongyu, Director General of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to discuss Malawi’s agenda for agricultural commercialization, mechanization, and industrialization as a means to achieving food security for Malawi and the region.
His Excellency not only conveyed his thanks for FAO’s commitment to supporting Malawi through initiatives such as the recently concluded FAO Country Programme Framework for the years 2024 to 2027, but also lobbied for FAO’s technical assistance in transitioning Malawi’s farmers from smallholder subsistence farming to climate-smart agriculture that can withstand the annual threat of floods and droughts.
FAO Director-General Qu expressed enthusiasm at the President’s invitation to strengthen the organization’s support for Malawi’s agriculture. Dr. Qu took a special interest in President Chakwera’s ATM Strategy for boosting productivity, mechanization, and commercialization in the sectors of Agriculture, Tourism, and Mining, describing it as “a clear vision for long-term transformation from a great leader that should be supported”.
He therefore pledged to act on the President’s appeal for support and also shared with the President his own thoughts on how the ATM Strategy can be leveraged to ensure that Malawi’s journey towards the 2063 Vision of inclusive wealth is anchored by consecutive milestones that build on each other, moving Malawi from production to industrialization to digitization.
