Professor Machira: “Parents should start mentoring their children to stand on their own through innovation,” Malawi must take deliberate steps to turn its large youthful population into a productive force for economic development, with agriculture, innovation and entrepreneurship identified as important pathways to greater economic participation. The call was made by newly inaugurated Lilongwe University ...

Smallholder farmers and micro agri-food businesses in Malawi are set to gain improved access to longer-term financing following a €7.5 million agreement between EIB Global and Centenary Bank Malawi. The financing, provided under the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative, is designed to increase lending to rural communities and businesses operating across Malawi’s agricultural value chain. ...

Malawi is being urged to look beyond its domestic market and build stronger agricultural value chains with neighbouring countries as it seeks to turn farming into a driver of economic growth, jobs and regional trade. The proposal was discussed at the 2026 Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, where stakeholders argued that Malawi does not ...

Zimbabwe dominated Africa’s tobacco leaf exports in 2024, accounting for 48.51% of the continent’s total exports and significantly outpacing other major tobacco-producing countries. According to trade statistics cited in a World Health Organization report released on August 31, 2026, Malawi ranked second with 20.06%, while Tanzania contributed 14.49%. Together, the three countries accounted for more ...

Agriculture can play a much bigger role in driving economic growth and improving food security across Southern Africa — but countries in the region need to make it easier to trade agricultural products across their borders. The focus on agricultural development at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) 46th summit in August 2026 reflected a ...

Newly appointed Professor Joseph Dzanja of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) has called for major investment in Malawi’s agricultural marketing systems, arguing that fixing the country’s market structures is essential to unlocking the sector’s full potential. Professor Dzanja made the remarks on Thursday during his inaugural lecture at LUANAR, where he ...

Image: UN Representative to Malawi Addah Dontoh inspecting CECOYD pavilion A three-day National Youth Summit in Lilongwe has highlighted agriculture, soybean production and value addition as promising pathways to employment and entrepreneurship for Malawi’s young people. Organised by the National Youth Council of Malawi, the summit, held from August 18–20 at the Bingu International Convention ...

Women cotton farmers in southern Malawi are proving that agriculture can be a powerful driver of economic empowerment by turning seasonal cotton earnings into year-round businesses that support their families, create employment and strengthen local economies. Through collective farming, financial discipline and business diversification, members of the Mkuyu Women’s Group in Mangochi District are using ...

Mbilizi hands over equipment she says will cut costs and boost farmer competitiveness Malawi has strengthened its drive to modernise agriculture with the distribution of 15 tractors and a full range of farming implements to cooperatives across the country as part of efforts to improve productivity and promote commercial farming. The equipment was officially handed ...

Women farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa could help generate billions of dollars in additional agricultural output if longstanding inequalities limiting their productivity are addressed, according to a new World Bank report. The study, conducted by the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab and Development Research Group, examined data from 23 nationally representative surveys across 12 African ...