Kasungu, Malawi — Vice-President Jane Ansah led a senior-government team to the BOMFA farmer cooperative on Thursday, touring a Kasungu plant that turns sunflower seed into 800 litres of cooking oil each day, according to local reports. Surrounded by 703 members of the Bomba Farmers Association, the VP inspected pressing and refining equipment installed inside a warehouse the group built in 2005 and has expanded steadily with member levies and retained earnings. Government statements indicate the facility has become a reference point for Malawi’s Agricultural Sector Cooperatives Policy, a framework meant to push smallholders from raw-crop sales to packaged, export-ready products.
Deputy minister of industry Edgar Tembo, trade principal secretary Bright Molande and presidential adviser David Kambalame accompanied the visit, underscoring official recognition of the cooperative model. During a brief address to farmers, Ansah said collective processing “puts more kwacha in your pockets and jobs in the village,” independent observers who attended the event.
The tour came as authorities promote farm — level value addition to curb edible-oil imports and shrink a trade gap that official data show has widened in recent quarters.
BOMFA members told the delegation that consistent power supply, affordable credit and reliable seed supply remain hurdles if the plant is to push daily output past the 1,000-litre mark. Official statements indicate the ministries of trade and energy will review duty on spare parts for cold-press machines, but no timeline was announced.
Further details are expected after a policy review the VP said her office will coordinate within the next few weeks.
