By Dean Chisambo
Government through Transforming Agriculture Diversification and Entrepreneurship (TRADE) programme has encouraged rural farmers to embark on and take bee farming as a business, as one of diversification agender that the ministry of agriculture want to support Malawians farmers in this country.
Speaking during honey stakeholders meeting in Lilongwe , director of animal health and livestock development in the ministry of agriculture Julius Chulu said said relying on traditional crops might find out that alot of people will be affected by climate shocks that have happened in this country.
He said farmers should make sure that they must be able to learn about the bee industry and how to produce bees products for the best of their abilities.
On his part Zambia high commissioner to Malawi who is also a bee farmer Panji Kaunda said Malawian and Zambian governments should put emphasis on education to sensitive rural farmers mostly the important of keeping bee farming.
He said they must put bee farming at every high level because bee farming is one of the biggest investment that can generate alot of money to rural farmers.
In his remarks TRADE national programme coordinator Felix Lombe said they are there to contribute sustainable livelihoods of rural people through agriculture commercialisation which are in seven value chain and one of them is honey.
Lombe said their interest in honey is to ensure that farmers that are in value chain are well connected to market because availability of market is very important saying they are able to help smallholder farmers financially through agricultural innovation fund which the government has set aside twenty billion kwacha after borrowing from International Fund for Agricultural Development( IFAD) and Opec Fund for International Development( OFID).
Lombe added that the purpose of TRADE programme is to make sure that smallholder farmers are able to produce their product at higher quantity and quality and also to process it in value addition which they can sell it to foreign market that will be sustainable.
TRADE programme is a government programme which will run for six years it will initially cover eleven districts such as Mchinji, Ntchisi, Dedza, Blantyre, Kasungu, Nkhata-bay, Rumphi, Karonga, Lilongwe rural, Thyolo and Chitipa.
The events brought together reseachers, extension workers, farmers, government officials and the private sector.
 programme has encouraged rural farmers to embark on and take bee farming as a business, as one of diversification…){kind=link}