The Ministry of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism has called for increased private sector investment in Malawi’s agri-food systems to accelerate economic transformation, industrialisation and job creation.
Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism, Simon Itaye, made the call in Lilongwe on Monday,when he officially opened the 2026 Agri-Food Systems Investment Symposium.
The symposium is being held under the theme, “Unlocking Private Sector Investment for Sustainable Agri-Food Systems Transformation in Malawi.”
Itaye said agriculture remains the backbone of Malawi’s economy, contributing between 22 and 30 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employing about 64 percent of the population and accounting for more than 80 percent of the country’s export earnings.
However, the minister said the sector continues to face challenges, including low productivity, inadequate irrigation and mechanisation, limited access to finance, climate-related shocks, post-harvest losses and inadequate value addition.
Itaye said Malawi must move away from exporting raw agricultural commodities while importing processed products.
He said increased investment in Agro-processing would create jobs, increase farmers’ incomes, reduce imports and strengthen the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
The Minister said government is committed to creating a predictable and supportive business environment through reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and investment facilitation through the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre.
He further said Malawi’s membership in SADC, COMESA and the African Continental Free Trade Area provides investors with access to a market of more than one billion consumers.
Itaye has since urged the private sector, financial institutions, development partners, farmers and innovators to work together to transform Malawi into a country that exports processed agricultural products rather than raw commodities.
He said such collaboration is critical to achieving the Malawi 2063 vision of an industrialised, self-reliant and prosperous nation.
Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture Roza Mbilizi has challenged the private sector to invest in areas such as large-scale commercial agriculture, Agro-processing, livestock development, irrigation, climate-smart agriculture, agricultural mechanisation, seed and input supply chains, digital agriculture, storage and cold-chain infrastructure.
Mbilizi expressed hope that the symposium wcould help Malawi generate more forex through the adopted seven value chains, adding the country should expect the proceeds by 2028.
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