Failure by small holder farmers to adopt new technologies in legume production is among factors hindering the growth of the sector, according to the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC).
The observations were made during a research symposium AICC held in Lilongwe for some of the stakeholders in the legume value chain.
The symposium was held under the theme, Transforming the Legume Sub-sector Through Science and Technology and brought together farmers, researchers, government officials and other stakeholders.
AICC Chief Executive Officer, Felix Lombe, said legumes have the potential to replace tobacco and transform the country’s economy only if production would be scaled up.
He was quick to observe, however, that this has failed to materialise in Malawi because of a lack of concerted effort between the government and development partners in funding research institutions.
He also pointed out that many farmers are not quick to adopt new technologies that can enhance production.
“The funding levels are very minimal, whether from higher education institutions or through government departments that are responsible for undertaking research. We have also observed that there is low uptake of the particular technologies by the end users,” Lombe said.
He the problem was lack of coordination between the researchers and the farmers stressing that some of the innovations are not problem based.
Head of the Sector Wide Approach-support Project (Aswap) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Nelson Mataka, echoed Lombe’s sentiments observing that Malawi is losing out by clinging to traditional agriculture practices.
“it is disheartening that reports still indicate low adoption of technologies which contributes to continued low productivity by our farmers” Mataka said.
He encouraged farmers to adopt modern technologies that are released by the ministry which will in the long run enhance productivity.
Mataka also acknowledged the challenges prevailing in the legume subsector singling out low productivity and lack of markets.
“Through the use of technology and making sure that research results are disseminated and adopted is the way to go if we are to overcome these barriers” he said.
He called on all stakeholders to join hands to grow the sector with latest technologies.
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