During the Ecama Lakeshore conference, the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) says that Malawi continues to overly rely on the agriculture sector as a key source of employment for the growing population. Offering a solution, MCCCI advised Capital Hill to speed up the industrialisation drive as well as re-allocating resources from the current low-productivity areas to high-productivity sector or ‘high labour absorbing sectors.’

MCCCI Chief Executive Officer Chancellor Kaferapanjira also lamented the use of hoes in fields, instead of tractors as is widespread. According to statistics presented at the conference, growth in agricultural land cannot keep pace with population growth in Malawi.

The average farm plot sizes continue to fall with the poor only holding median plot size at just 0.238 hectares per capita compared to the non-poor who hold 0.43 hectares per capita, a situation population experts at the meeting said will continue to worsen. In June this year, the World Bank said that in the past decade, Malawi has been able to make significant economic and structural reforms and sustain economic growth, but remains one of the poorest countries in the world, because it is overly dependent on agriculture. As a result, weather related constraints curb agricultural progress and the economy altogether, hence Malawi needs to diversify its income streams, according to the report.