Mitundu Sensitization

On 9^th November, 2012, Agricultural Commodity Exchange (ACE) sensitizized farmers from Chiwala Village, T.A. Chiseka in Lilongwe at Thambo warehouse about 30 km from Lilongwe. The warehouse was built by Good neighbors International to help small operators in the area have access to proper storage and to help them find better markets. The meeting attracted members from Good neighbors International, representatives from agricultural ministry, traditional authorities, local chiefs and people from the area. The objective of the session was for Good Neighbors to distribute farm inputs to farmers and ACE officials were invited to sensitize farmers on structured trade systems ACE is implementing in the market. Among other things, the discussion dwelled on the Warehouse receipt system (WRS) as a means of accessing better storage and finance. And also market information system which enables farmers to receive commodity prices from selected markets across Malawi on their mobile phones.

Food security is a problem that is facing most African nations. In fact, most of the countries have lived with it for decades due to poor harvest farmers obtain at the end of each year. Good Neighbors International has established a system to supply inputs like fertilizer and seed to farmers so that they pay back after harvest. This is a very welcome development as Malawi is a land-locked country with most households living in the rural areas and surviving on $1 per day.

It is in the interest of ACE to work with other non-governmental partners like Good neighbors to help small operators improve their livelihoods. ACE plans to reach out to many farmers as possible to help them alleviate problems resulting from poor post handling and poor prices.