Making Agriculture As a Business To Youth

Annually Malawi produces thousands of graduates from the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources [Luanar] and Mwimba College of Agriculture in Kasungu District.

With these youth professionals they are supposed to utilize their skills and knowledge to spearhead the transformation of the agriculture sector for accelerated socio-economic development of the country.

Kerita Panje- Msusa 26-year-old smallholder farmer said that Youths often have an image of agriculture that has to do with subsistence farming which has low reputation and mostly associated with old people.

Panje-Msusa started farming in 2016 when she was only 22 she hails from Mwangata Village in T/A Mlomba in Machinga.

She said that her parents who are members of National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi [NASFAM] inspired her to take agriculture as her career choice.

Panje-Msusa she also said that taking agriculture as a career was not an easy choice to make considering her age.

‘’But l persevered and continued fighting hard today l am proud owner of a magnificent house at Msanama Trading Centre, l also have motorcycles and cars which l hire out to earn additional income,’’ she said.

Making agriculture profitable requires that the costs of farming and doing business be reduced while at the same time productivity increases.