The Minister of Finance Hon. Goodall Gondwe
PS for Agriculture and Food Security
World Bank representative
PS Finance
Members of the Press
It gives me great pleasure to join you here today in signing this agreement. As a matter of fact this agreement is the first one being signed in relation to the ADP-SP. For me it is a memorable occasion also because this is the first agreement my Embassy is being involved in since my appointment as the ambassador for Norway to Malawi.
This signing of a first agreement in support of a national sector programme for agriculture is indeed a landmark. Norway supported the Government of Malawi, through its MASIP Secretariat, many years ago, aiming for this day. It has taken many years of creative work, may be too many years. A national agriculture strategy has been established, and an implementation programme has been formulated. There has been close and good cooperation with your Government, and the donor group has worked well together. The World Bank must be given special credit for their contribution to the last leg of this race, and not at least Mr. David Rohrbach should be commended for his contributions to the process. I`m also pleased to recognise that my Embassy has left some noticeable footmarks along the road. Above all, the result of this process is the credit of the Government of Malawi, and the main part of this work has been carried out by dedicated officers, in particular at the Ministry of Agriculture.
Most encouring is the fact that Malawi has managed to produce a robust platform in agriculture, on a clear set of performance-based priorities. You will recall that this strategy was prepared after a comprehensive consultative process, and it is my belief that Malawi shall continue to take a leading role in future processes - including the implementation of the ADP. I feel convinced that the ADP will provide the much-needed direction for the sector since it has clear performance indicators.
Minister,
Civil society participation is critical in the agricultural sector and it’s my sincere hope that this will be fully utilised. Equally important are the structures put in place during the decentralization process. The ADP should be seen as an acid test of the efficiency of the decentralised structures.
Full potential of the project can only be realised when World Bank funding comes on board. It is my hope therefore that the Parliament will approve the Programme at its next sitting. Donors have provided both technical support and financial support during the preparation of the ADP. Hopefully donors will stand behind the Programme and that the Government, similarly, will continue to provide adequate resources to the agriculture sector.
Prevention is better than cure. My Government has established a policy, giving a high priority to prevent humanitarian crisis, rather than waiting for damage to happen, and then to repair. I had indeed the pleasure to be instrumental in the formulation of a recent White Paper for the Norwegian Parliament on Disaster Risk Reduction and Prevention of Humanitarian Crises.
My Government has a strong agenda for gender, environment and climate adaptation. The ADP is a good avenue for mainstreaming these policy issues. A sustainable agriculture programme, like the ADP, has to focus on the role of women and how the rural communities - those to be hardest hit by the impacts of climate change - can adapt to effects of climate change.
Minister, friends,
Malawi, once, was mainly known to the world for its hunger and misery. Today, Malawi is known to the world for its outstanding results in providing food security for its people. It is our wish and hope that the programme agreement we sign today, together with the support forthcoming from the World Bank and others, will consolidate and sustain the efforts made by your Government during the last years of success in agriculture production. We do expect that this programme will mobilise for full participation of all relevant parties and a broad spectre of areas to make food security in Malawi sustainable - for the benefit of the common men and women of this country.
The WB and the Norwegian Embassy have opted to channel funds through the Government structures and to rely fully on the Government for the implementation of the Programme. This is in line with the wishes of your Government and our commitments to the Paris Declaration. At the same time we must emphasize that we have a zero tolerance of mismanagement, fraud and corruption. It therefore lays a heavy responsibility on us all to ensure proper management of funds. We urge the Government to make its utmost to honour the confidence we have vested in you. This is indeed an opportunity to get everything right from the very beginning.
Thanks for your attention !