Malawi is set to host an annual agricultural policy conference next week, with local and international agricultural think tanks expected to converge at the capital, Lilongwe, between June 1 to 2, 2021.
The Theme of the conference is ‘Supporting Agriculture Transformation in Malawi: Beyond Research to Implementation’, and the gathering is expected to provide a platform to experts to disseminate new evidence to stakeholders, explore research partnerships, harmonize policy messaging and increase uptake of new research findings in the policymaking process.
Talking with personnel of the media in Lilongwe, the chairperson of the organizing task force, William Chadza, noted that the conference is expected to integrate new research findings into Malawi’s agricultural transformation.
“We expect the conference to identify quick wins for the pillar on agricultural productivity and commercialization in the Malawi 2063. We also expect the conference outputs to inform ongoing review of policies in the agricultural sector related to agricultural diversification” he said.
The conference is jointly organized by the Malawi Agriculture Policy Advancement and Transformation Agenda (MwAPATA Institute), National Planning Commission (NPC), the Ministry of Agriculture and the Centre for Agricultural Research and Development of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET); while other partners include the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) and the Donor Committee on Agriculture and Food Security while the conference partners include Michigan State University, Agricultural Transformation Initiative (ATI), Centre for Agricultural Transformation and Pyxus Agriculture Limited.
