Biotech to improve Malawi’s agricultural production
MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-Modern biotechnology has been proven as one of the solutions that can boost agricultural economy in the country.
The remarks were made on Friday, June 9, 2023 at a media workshop which drew journalists from various districts in the Northern Region of Malawi.
Speaking during the training in Mzuzu, a Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) based senior lecturer in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Abel Sefasi, said Malawi ought to embrace the innovation in order to increase yields in agriculture and turn the Malawi’s economy around.
“This is an important training that we realised that all that we do as scientists, we do it for the farmers to benefit so that when they use the technologies, the technologies can contribute to the vision that this country has, the Malawi 2063; especially for agriculture, as we know that agriculture is the backbone of the economy of Malawi,” said Sefasi.
The workshop which was organised by Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), with support from the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) in partnership with Nyika Media Club, is one of trainings that NCST has been organising for journalists in the country so as to disseminate the right information on biotechnology to farmers and other stakeholders.
In his remarks, chairperson for Nyika Media Club, Joseph Mwale, said the training was an eye-opener for journalists to understand issues around biotechnology.
Mwale said: “It’s important that as journalists we understand why we are still lagging behind in terms this technology. And I think it challenges policy makers that to do more and focus on it to achieve food security.”
Biotechnology is technology that utilizes biological systems, living organisms or parts of this to develop or create different products that can improve the quality of human life.
