EDF explores opportunities in the mining sector

Some economic commentators have supported the government's drive to champion a fast-tracked export development initiative through intensified agricultural production whose output is expected to start earning foreign exchange for the country within 12 months. Finance Minister Ken Lipenga has since urged the private sector to come up with detailed proposals on how the government can support export generation ventures. The technocrats says Malawi must utilise its available water and land resources to satisfy the ever increasing global food demand by massively producing rice, groundnuts, pigeon peas, soya and maize. Farmers Union of Malawi (Fum) Felix Jumbe said the government must re-organise the agricultural produce marketing system to specifically focus on consolidating forex earning generating from food crops and not only tobacco. "The demand for food will never go down across the world. For your own information, just 500,000 metric tonnes of rice can earn us US$400 million, which is what tobacco normally brings," said Jumbe.