RICE FARMERS DECRY POOR MARKET – Malawi News Online

According to rice farmers in Dedza District have decried lack of access to stable markets. The farmers, who are under Bwanje Valley Cooperatives, have also said that the current markets have low prices.

During an agriculture market fair for Mtakataka Extension Planning Area (EPA) in the district, Chairperson for the coorperative, Mathews Tarsizio, outlined that the group had capacity to the growing market demand of rice, however the market and its prices were not fair enough. “We cultivate rice throughout the year but our main challenge is access to better markets. We are ready to supply to every corner of the country if opportunity comes our way; hence, calling all hotel, lodge and restaurant owners to do business with us,” Tarsizio said.

On the other hand, Malawi has tripled her rice harvests, as figures from the Africa Institute for Corporate Citizenship (AICC) have shown that  Malawi’s rice production has increased from 2,200 kilograms (kg) per hectare to 6,500 kgs per hectare.

The report has attributed the massive harvest increase to farming principals that were taught by Systems of Rice Intensification (SRI), a program used in growing productive and robust plants.