The Seventh Eminent Speaker Series event took place on Thursday, 2nd December 2021.  Dr. Thomas Munthali, the Director General of the National Planning Commission (NPC) welcomed all the stakeholders both online and physical to this important discussion.  He stated the MW2063 agenda cannot be achieved if soil health is not addressed.

 

The Eminent Speaker and World Food Prize Laureate, Prof. Pedro A. Sanchez argued "Malawian soils are in great need to restore soil health." He said Malawi soils are naturally "good" soils, but they are sick. As such,  there is a need to adopt a more comprehensive soil health program and not just  fertilizer.  Prof. Sanchez proposed solutions to improve Malawian soils, which included adding mineral fertilizer correctly and integrating with organics as well as planting on time using the best hybrid varieties and practicing good agronomy, spacing, and contours, among many other proposed solutions.

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Dr. Patson Nalivata, the Discussant, agreed soil health is vital to attainment of MW2063, hence the need to enhance agricultural production interventions, promoting and adopting climate smart agricultural technologies, and sustainable land and environmental management. The discussion had input from three experts who shared their views during a panel discussion. Several institutions showcased innovations to help farmers improve soil health and productivity, including the Department of Conversation and Land Resources,  the Farm Services Unit of Farmers World, Africa RISING and LUANAR.