BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-President Lazarus Chakwera has urged manufacturering companies to engage regumes local growers in contract farming for maximum production.
President Chakwera observes that the country is producing less regumes for manunufacturing exports.
The Malawi leader made an appeal on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 during the commissioning of the Bakhresa Soya Extraction and Vegetable Oil Refinery, Limbe in Blantyre.
“I was looking forward to Commissioning of this Factory both because of what it does for our country and because of what it represents in the new future that we are creating for young people. What this factory does is to make Malawi a producer of export-quality bread flour, because the production of 500 metric tons of bread flour that happens here every day is what Malawi 2063 means by productivity.
“What this factory does is to save Malawi millions of dollars in forex because of all the things made here that we do not have to import from other nations. What this factory does is to employ over 300 people, thus supporting their families with an income for feeding themselves, paying rentals, and educating their children. What this factory does is to provide our farmers with a ready market for their soya,
because this plant is effectively an off-taker of what theygrow, because as much as 180,000 tons of soya can be supplied to this factory every year”,observes Chakwera.
He added, “But like I said, I am also here to draw attention to what this factory represents. Particularly, I want you to think about the gap that we need to fill as a country in order to make the most of this factory. At the moment, Malawi already has the capacity to process 600,000 tons of soya, and this Bakhresa plant will now mean we can process close to 800,000 metric tons.
“But the question I want us to grapple with in the second term of my presidency is where is the
800,000 metric tons of soya to be processed at factories like this going to come from? You see, our farmer in this country only produce 200,000 metric tons of soya, which means that we need to help our farmers increase their production of soya four times in order for factories like this to operate at their full capacity”.
The Malawi leader pledges, “So what I plan to do is to facilitate the investment of companies like Bakhresa in the productive capacity of our farmers, even if it means contracting our farmers and helping them mechanize their operations to increase yield.
“But the bottom line is that my Government wants to give companies like Bakhresa an opportunity to grow by helping to grow the capacity of our farmers. That is what will be the game changer”.
Chakwera adds, “When I met with the Bakhresa Board at Sanjika Palace back in August 2022, we spoke of our shared hope that Malawi’s farmers, our young people, and our industries could unite to turn raw potential into real prosperity.
“Today, as I stand before you, that conversation has taken concrete shape and am very excited with this investment. And now I want us to focus on building on this foundation to create jobs and prosperity by strengthening our farmers’ capacity to meet the demands of this factory”.
Chakwera is optimistic, “To me, this factory has the chance to shift the fortunes of our farmers on both ends, both on the production end and the processing end. And in so doing, this factory represents what all processing companies need to start thinking about, namely, how can processing companies like this support those who produce the raw materials they use produce more in order to meet demand?
“The companies that want to be part of that
solution are the ones I will be working closely with going forward, and I want to thank Bakhresa for joining the list of other companies that are leading the way. I welcome your commitment. I value your partnership. And I challenge others to follow your example”.