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Agriculture / Agro-processing


Agriculture still remains the mainstay of the country’s economy contributing about 39 % of the gross domestic product (GDP). There are various opportunities for investment such as livestock production (for dairy and beef), aquaculture, horticulture, processing and packaging of other agriculture produce.

In addition Malawi has not fully exploited the production of such agricultural crops under irrigation and this is an opportunity worth taking. Horticultural products such as vegetables, flowers, and fruits including rice can be grown using surface, gravity, pump, river diversion or sprinkler irrigation systems. Out of the 400,000 ha of land suitable for irrigation, only 14,000 ha of land is under smallholder farmer irrigation and 48,000 ha under estate irrigation. This indicates a huge gap that can be addressed through investment.


 Soya bean processing

Malawi grows a lot of Soya beans. This high protein value crop is currently being processed into a number of products such as breakfast cereal for infants and HIV/AIDS patients. Soya based products are also used by meat; bakery and animal feed manufacturers to increase the nutrition value as well as shelf life of products.  Soya milk is produced at a very small scale but there is great potential for additional investment. Another product, soya bean oil is also required by soap manufacturers.

The best location for a Soya bean processing plant in Malawi is Kasungu where it is grown in huge quantities. The district produces 17,000 tons of soya per annum.   Kasungu Boma (CBD) has adequate infrastructure to support a processing plant.  Additionally Kasungu is ideal because it is centrally located between high soya producing districts of Ntchisi (17,000 tons) and Mzimba (18,000 tons). Therefore it is less costly to transport soya from these districts to Kasungu.


 Cotton production

Another opportunity lies in cotton. MIPA invites investors to start large - scale cotton farming in estates. Presently cotton is mostly grown by smallholder farmers. The lower Shire valley districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje produce about 31,144 tonnes of cotton out of a national total of close to 50,000 tonnes. However the cotton produced is not enough to meet the ginning capacity that is available in the country. Three ginning companies namely: Great Lakes Cotton company, Clark Cotton and Iponga use only 30 % of their processing capacity.


 Small Ginneries/oil processing plants

Just like soya beans, cotton has a lot of by -products that can be processed further. Apart from the cotton lint, the cottonseed can be crushed to make cooking oil and the leftover into animal feed. Malawi therefore hopes to empower local Malawians to own small-scale ginneries and oil extracting plants since these do not require heavy capital investment.


 Livestock Farming

The livestock industry in Malawi is not fully developed evident in huge importations of dairy products currently at 50 percent. Opportunities exist in Cattle farming for beef and meat products, as well as milk and milk products such as cheese and yoghurt. Mzimba District in Northern Malawi is highly recommended for beef and dairy industry because of the existing cattle population and culture. Particular areas such as Mzimba Boma, Champhira and Euthini are earmarked for a beef/dairy industry because they have some basic infrastructure needed for industrial development like electricity, roads (or planned secondary roads) water/sanitation.


 Dairy industry

Malawi has about 4,000 registered dairy farmers producing approximately 6,500 tons of milk annually. Malawi’s milk consumption is the lowest in Africa at 5 litres per capita against Africa’s per capita of 80 litres and against the World Health organization (WHO) recommended intake of 200 litres. This shortfall underlines the opportunity for investment in the industry. Key areas for investment at primary production level include:

  • Cattle breeding
  • Feed growing and feed production
  • Hay production through growing of Rhodes grass and stocking it for sale to farmers
  • Manufacture cooling tanks and collection equipment (e.g. milk churns)
  • Service provision e.g. Artificial insemination, operation of dipping tanks administration of drugs. and transportation of raw milk to processing plants

 Projects in dairy the industry


Rehabilitation and expansion of NORTHERN DAIRIES LIMITED
The owner is seeking a loan to finance the rehabilitation and expansion of the dairy.  This includes acquisition of a milk collection tanker, processing equipment and general rehabilitation of the factory. In addition the company intends to increase the population of dairy cows to meet its processing capacity through adequate supplies of raw milk. The project would also enable the dairy to increase its product range to include the manufacture of cheese and sterilized milk.

Mini dairy
Investors may also explore the possibility of opening up and other dairy in the Northern Region of Malawi. Mzimba and Karonga are preferred location because they have a ready market and infrastructure to support such an industry.