DCAFS Malawi

DCAFS Malawi Donor Committee on Agriculture and Food Security (DCAFS)’s purpose is to deepen coordination among DPs & ensure effective policy dialogue with the Govt.

The purpose of Donors Committee on Agriculture and Food Security (DCAFS) is to deepen dialogue, coordination and cooperation among development partners, and between these partners and the Government in respect to Agriculture and Food Security with a view to strengthening the quality of partnership and effectively supporting the Malawi 2063, Malabo commitments and related agriculture development strategies.

DCAFS and the Minister of Agriculture are determined to make impactful investments in the Agriculture SectorOn Thursday,...
09/12/2025

DCAFS and the Minister of Agriculture are determined to make impactful investments in the Agriculture Sector

On Thursday, 4th December 2025, the DCAFS Troika Head of Cooperations held a courtesy meeting with the Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Roza Fatch Mbilizi, M.P. One key observation from both the Minister and the HoCs was that, despite significant resource investment in the sector, Malawi continues to experience persistent annual food shortages, vulnerability to climate shocks, and limited export volumes. This suggests that Malawi is not getting the return from huge agricultural investments. The question, therefore, remains, “What is being done wrong?” They both agreed on the need to improve sector management to deliver value for money, improve coordination among sector players and across all sectors, establish joint monitoring and evaluation, and enhance mutual accountability, integrity, and discipline among all managers and implementers.

In her remarks, the DCAFS Chair reaffirmed the Development Partners' commitment to the sector, as demonstrated by the current overall funding of about US$1.66 billion through 70 projects spanning 2022 to 2029, with an average annual commitment of US$368.5 million and an annual disbursement of US$276 million.

The Troika HoCs present were Bernadette Mukonyora, IFAD Malawi Country Director and DCAFS Chair; H.E. Kate Brady, Ambassador, Embassy of Ireland, and Ben Nicholson, Deputy High Commissioner and Development Director of FCDO Malawi.

Ireland in Malawi,
UK in Malawi,
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),
Ministry of Agriculture - Malawi,

Government and Development Partners Launch the Malawi Coffee StrategyThe DCAFS Chair, Ms. Bernadette Mukonyora, IFAD Cou...
14/11/2025

Government and Development Partners Launch the Malawi Coffee Strategy

The DCAFS Chair, Ms. Bernadette Mukonyora, IFAD Country Director, reaffirmed the Development Partners' commitment to supporting the implementation of the Malawi Coffee Strategy (2025–2040). In her statement, on behalf of the DCAFS, she explained that coordinated donor support to the agriculture sector is currently at US$1.6 billion across 70 projects running for 5 years. She pointed out that, in addition to grants, it is necessary to assess farmers’ readiness to access and manage financing through credit facilities.

The Coffee Strategy aims to increase the value chain’s annual revenue to EUR240 million by 2040 through reforms in regulation, research, markets, and sustainable production. The Italian government, through a project delivered by UNIDO and in collaboration with Team Europe, has selected 5 African countries (Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia) to promote coffee production and consumption. The strategy budget is EUR350 million, with an expected EUR70 million from public financing and proposes the establishment of the Malawi Coffee Commission.
In her remarks, the Minister for Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, Hon. Roza Mbilizi, M.P, urged a shift from exporting green beans (raw coffee) to processed products; a need to promote visibility of Malawi coffee which has a unique aroma; promote mechanization (universities need to develop simple machinery to replace a hoe) and the need to strengthen inter-ministerial and inter-agency coordination during implementation.

AFS Summit 2025: Malawi Shines on Youth Agri-preneurs InnovationMalawi had a strategic representation at the Africa Food...
29/09/2025

AFS Summit 2025: Malawi Shines on Youth Agri-preneurs Innovation

Malawi had a strategic representation at the Africa Food Systems (AFS) Forum 2025 in Dakar, Senegal and emerged as one of the winners in the youth entrepreneurship award. Malawian entrepreneur, Lusungu Mwase, founder of Lweya Honey, was named one of Africa’s leading women in agripreneurship after winning the 2025 Women Agri-preneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA). The award comes with a US$12,000 cash prize (approximately K24 million).

The Malawi delegation comprised approximately of 20 officials from various institutions, including government officials from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI), National Planning Commission (NPC), National Youth Council (NYC), Development Partners (AGRA and Embassy of Ireland) and the Donor Coordinator, the private sector (including SMEs and Youth Entrepreneurs). AGRA was the primary funding agency for the Malawi Delegation. The Africa Food Systems Forum 2025, formerly known as AGRF, is a premier gathering of public and private sector leaders, policymakers, researchers, development partners, and youth champions dedicated to transforming food systems across the continent.

The key message from the summit includes:
I. The United Kingdom (UK) announced a £5 million ($6.7 million) partnership between the UK, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and the African Union for food trade corridors. Announcing this partnership, the UK Minister for Africa, Hon. Lord Collins of Highbury, indicated that this commitment aims to advance food systems in Africa by fostering innovation, supporting farmers, and building resilient agricultural infrastructure.
II. A call for governments and private institutions to build a ladder to uplift young entrepreneurs. Tax justice in production, establishing mentorship and training programs and integrating entrepreneurship education into schools are critical.
III. Stimulating youth presentation and showcases, expressing the strong will to change Africa to feed the continent by itself, and to create thousands of jobs. “Youth Dome”, facilitated by AGRA, was an opportune setting.
IV. A call for a shift from making declarations to taking action at the institutional, country, regional and continental levels and making systemic change.
The Malawi Delegation team, under the leadership of the MoA and NPC, will spearhead implementation of the key actions from the summit. Additionally, the team will begin planning for the Malawi Investment Deal Room at the 2026 AFS Summit, a process aimed at attracting investors to Malawi.

AGRA-Sustainably Growing Africa’s Food Systems.
UK in Malawi
Ireland in Malawi
Ministry of Agriculture - Malawi
National Youth Council of Malawi
The Africa Food Systems Forum - AGRF

Development Partners Pledged to Support the Malawi Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan (2024 – 2034)At the launch of ...
22/08/2025

Development Partners Pledged to Support the Malawi Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan (2024 – 2034)

At the launch of the Malawi Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan, the Chair of the Donor Committee for Agriculture and Food Security (DCAFS), Ms. Bernadette Mukonyora, IFAD Malawi Country Director, reaffirmed the commitment of development partners to supporting the implementation of interventions outlined in the soil health action plan. In her statement on behalf of the DCAFS, she indicated that the current DCAFS support for Agriculture is solid and well-aligned with sustainable land and water conservation, with a total commitment of US$1.62 billion through various agricultural projects over the next five years. From total commitment, budget allocation to agriculture diversification accounts for 35.3 percent (US$571.86 million), while 14.4 percent (US$233.28 million) is allocated towards irrigation development. These pillars, which are priorities in the MIP-1 of the Mw2063, are crucial to soil health management.

In his official launch statement, the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Samuel Kawale, emphasized that the development of the Malawi Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan, with support from IFAD, signifies that Malawi is prepared to take appropriate action in reversing the decline of soils and aligning with regional frameworks in soil health management. He pointed out that the soil health action plan focuses on three aspects: soil, water and labour to boost soil health and sustainable irrigation management.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Ministry of Agriculture - Malawi
Mwapata Institute
UK in Malawi
Ireland in Malawi

(Picture: Ms Bernadette Mukonyora, DCAFS Chair and the Hon Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Samuel Kawale)

DCAFS Held Momentous 2025 Annual Retreat in LilongweOn Friday, 6th June 2025, Development Partners in Agriculture and Fo...
13/06/2025

DCAFS Held Momentous 2025 Annual Retreat in Lilongwe

On Friday, 6th June 2025, Development Partners in Agriculture and Food Security (DCAFS) held an annual retreat at Woodlands in Lilongwe. The DCAFS Annual Retreat is a wonderful opportunity for Development Partners to step away from the office environment and engage in productive and structured discussions, focusing on the year's achievements and lessons learnt to inform the identification of priorities in the year ahead. Additionally, the event marks the official handover of the DCAFS leadership. At the event, FCDO handed over DCAFS’s Chair responsibility to IFAD for the 2025/26 and the Embassy of Ireland was confirmed as DCAFS Incoming Chair to assume the chair position in June 2026.

During the retreat, the DCAFS observed that the high cost of financing is one of the deterrent factors to crop and livestock production and commercialization in Malawi. The DCAFS reaffirmed its commitment to work with Finance Institutions to de-risk lending to the agriculture sector, in addition to blending with grants to producers. The DCAFS underscored that an enabling business environment, such as predictable trade policies and regulations, breaking silos across ministries and honest dialogue with private players in agriculture commercialization are some of the critical factors. The DCAFS applauded the year’s practices in systematically engaging the government (Ministry of Agriculture and Presidential Delivery Unit), thereby enabling alignment of DP-funded projects to MIP-1 of Malawi 2063. The DCAFS reaffirmed support for policy implementation through existing and upcoming projects.

UK in Malawi; Ireland in Malawi; International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); GIZ Malawi; Royal Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi; European Union in Malawi; UNICEF Malawi; UNDP Malawi; AGRA-Sustainably Growing Africa’s Food Systems.; JICA Malawi Office; U.S. Embassy Lilongwe; USAID Malawi; African Development Bank Group; Flanders Southern Africa; German Embassy Lilongwe; UN Women Malawi; TIPDeP Malawi

Ministry of Agriculture - Malawi;

DCAFS Hosted by NASFAM Commodity Marketing Exchange (NASCOMEX)On Thursday, 5th June 2025, NASFAM Commodity Marketing Exc...
13/06/2025

DCAFS Hosted by NASFAM Commodity Marketing Exchange (NASCOMEX)

On Thursday, 5th June 2025, NASFAM Commodity Marketing Exchange (NASCOMEX) hosted Development Partners in Agriculture and Food Security (DCAFS) at its factory in Kanengo, Lilongwe. The visit aimed to allow the DCAFS to have firsthand information about the NASFAM’s agricultural commercialisation model and gain a deeper understanding of the organisation of smallholder farmers as a business entity. Royal Norwegian Embassy and the Embassy of Ireland are working with NASFAM on the project entitled “Enhancing Member Livelihoods through an Aligned, Self-sustaining Enterprise [2021 – 2026]”. The project budget is US$7.88 million supporting rice, groundnuts, maize, chili, and soybean value chains.

During the visit, the DCAFS learned that NASFAM is the largest and leading smallholder farmer organization with a current membership of 132,000 smallholders operating in 22 of 28 districts in Malawi. To drive agro-processing business development, trading and marketing of NASFAM brands, NASCOMEX, a commercial arm of NASFAM, was incorporated under the Companies Act (1984) in 2003 as a limited liability company.

The DCAFS applauded NASCOMEX for the investment in value-added machinery for various crops, including maize, rice, soyabeans, chillies and groundnuts. In addition, DCAFS appreciated the NASCOMEX in-house Food Safety Laboratory, which enables it to meet product specifications for markets.

The DCAFS were concerned to learn that various challenges, such as cost of financing, porous borders, limited formal and structured markets for legumes, unpredictable trade restrictions and bureaucracy in key trade-related processes, continue to be key challenges affecting agro-business development. These policy-related challenges underscore the need for more effort by the Government of Malawi to create an enabling business environment.

The DCAFS underscored the need for NASFAM to deep-dive into a sustainability strategy to mitigate risks, protect the NASFAM brand, ensure a competitive advantage and leverage the growing market both locally and globally. The DCAFS members on the visit included FCDO, World Bank, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, IFAD, GIZ, IFPRI, UNDP and WFP, led by DCAFS Chair, Giles Henley of the FCDO.

UK in Malawi, Ireland in Malawi, World Bank, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi, GIZ Malawi, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), World Food Programme Malawi

Ministry of Agriculture - Malawi

DCAFS Visit a GIZ-Supported Aquaculture Project in Lilongwe In a drive to experience the project firsthand and gain a de...
12/06/2025

DCAFS Visit a GIZ-Supported Aquaculture Project in Lilongwe

In a drive to experience the project firsthand and gain a deeper understanding of the issues, Development Partners in Agriculture and Food Security (DCAFS) conducted a field visit to a GIZ- supported aquaculture project in Chitsime EPA in Lilongwe. The project is implemented by Kawjo Foundation, which is reaching 350 fish farmers and 5 fingerlings producers (34% women) located in Lilongwe, Kasungu, Dowa and Dedza districts.

Mr. Stephano Chiphazi (fingerling producer) of GVH Nyemba in Lilongwe testified that from a piece of land where he used to harvest only sugarcane, earned him K1.6 million from single harvest of fish and K600,000 from sugarcane sales.

The GIZ “Sustainable Aquatic Food” (SAF) project, with a budget of up to EUR 3.488 million, aims to utilize the potential of sustainable aquatic food to transform agriculture and food systems in Malawi while conserving the marine ecosystems. The project offers an approach to provide the population with high-quality food and counteract malnutrition.

During the visit, the DCAFS learned the collaboration between the project and LUANAR in research, supply of quality fish fingerlings. This was applauded by the DCAFS, given the negative impact of poor seed affecting production both in crops and fish farming. The DCAFS also learned that farmers were trained to produce their fish feed to address the high market costs of feed.

The DCAFS encouraged the need to strengthen commercialization in fish farming to increase farmer gains and ensure the project sustainability. The DPs also noted the need for the government's investment to promote fish farming as part of its commitment to increase fish production to the targeted 100,000 metric tonnes by 2030 from the current 14,000 metric tonnes per annum.

The DCAFS members on the visit included FCDO, World Bank, the Embassy of Ireland, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, IFAD, GIZ, JICA, IFPRI, UNDP and WFP.

UK in Malawi, World Bank, Ireland in Malawi, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), GIZ Malawi, JICA Malawi Office, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), UNDP Malawi, World Food Programme Malawi, Department of Fisheries - Malawi, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change - Malawi, Ministry of Agriculture - Malawi

Development Partners Affirms Commitment to Supporting the Food Systems Transformation Agenda The Development Partners ha...
22/05/2025

Development Partners Affirms Commitment to Supporting the Food Systems Transformation Agenda

The Development Partners have affirmed their commitment to supporting the Food Systems 2030 Agenda by, among other measures, increasing financing for nutrition. Speaking at the opening session of the Eastern and Southern Africa Food System Dialogue running from 21 to 23 May 2025, organized by the World Bank, the Malawi Government through Ministry of Agriculture - Malawi and other Development Partners, the Ambassador of Ireland in Malawi, Kate Hayes Brady, affirmed the Irish Government's commitment to the human right to food. She confirmed that in March 2025, at the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in Paris, where Ireland renewed and increased its financial commitment to nutrition with a pledge to spend 1 billion Euros globally between 2026 and 2030. This Food Systems dialogue, themed “Making food systems transformation a reality on the ground in Eastern and Southern Africa,” brings together over ten countries to address critical challenges and opportunities in the region.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Sam Kawale, M.P., underscored that Food Systems Transformation is a timely response to regional challenges, including climate variability and economic pressures threatening food security.

The Regional Practice Director of the World Bank for Eastern and Southern Africa, Anna Wellenstein, emphasized the need to repurpose agriculture to curb food insecurity, create jobs and generate wealth. To achieve this, policy reforms to embrace food systems and mobilize private sector investment remain pivotal.

Development Partners Committed to Supporting the Launched Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services Policy The DCAFS C...
20/05/2025

Development Partners Committed to Supporting the Launched Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services Policy

The DCAFS Chair, Giles Henley of FCDO, reaffirmed the commitment of the Development Partners to supporting the implementation of the Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services Policy launched on 16 May 2025. In his statement on behalf of the Donor Committee for Agriculture and Food Security (DCAFS), he indicated that the current DCAFS support for Agriculture research, innovation, and dissemination, one of the focus areas in MIP-1, is US$27.43 million per annum. He pointed out that while this policy reflects the range of challenges and opportunities within Malawi’s agricultural sector and sets out priorities for government extension, DCAFS would like to encourage the Government to consider the available capacity and role played by other partners in delivering extension services, such as Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the private sector.

In his official launch statement, the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Sam Kawale, underscored that this policy launch is a manifestation of the government’s commitment to transformative extension service delivery. To ensure effective implementation, the government shall coordinate stakeholders at the national and district levels through the Agricultural Extension Services Systems.

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