Chitedze Research Station Be A Commission- Jumbe

Member of Parliament for Salima Central, Felix Jumbe says Malawi can enhance functions of Research Stations and also put to an end issues of inadequate funding for these institutions by turning Chitedze Research Station to become National Research Commission of Malawi. 

Jumbe also Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Food and Water Development, said in an interview that, at the moment Chitedze Research Station and all other research stations in the country are failing to function as it were in the past because of lack of Funding.

He said following the recent de-linking of Chitedze Research Station from Luanar turning the Research Stations as Authority will be the best way of improving effiencies than keeping them within Government Departments under Ministry of Agriculture.

The Research Stations in Malawi are among Government Departments under Ministry of Agriculture.

However, Hon Jumbe said there is need to reorganize these institutions whose organization structures were designed in 1960’s for them to deliver with efficiency at this time.

He therefore said the best alternative to the funding for research stations and ensure efficiency is to make them a standalone institution which can carry out agricultural research tasks for private sector at a fee. 

“We would rather want to see Chitedze Research Station becoming a National Research Commission of Malawi that would cover, Lunyangwa, Bvumbwe and all the research stations to be under their control” said Jumbe

He said other countries like Zambia and Kenya have done the same.

“If Chitedze become a Commission, will enable it to interface with private sector undertake work of Private sector on payment basis and make them be able to make money own their own.” He said 

“Chitedze Research Station is not functioning as it were in the past because of lack of Funding. But, to me lack of funding is lack of planning and lack of thinking; that we need to reform Chitedze and other research stations so that they could be operating own their own.

Chitedze has got a lot of land and capacity. They can undertake research for different companies on different fields and this can be at a fee.” 

He emphasize that this will help government agenda of breeding quality seeds and improved varieties and breed of animals.

He also said his committee will take this matter further by interface with the Minister to make him understand its importance so that the ministry can make a proposal of turning all the Research stations to become Commission.

ARET, Chitedze Research De-linked From LUANAR

The National Assembly passes the bill detaching Agriculture Research Trust (ARET) and Chitedze Research Station from the Lilongwe University oAgriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR).

The two delinked institutions and the two colleges of Bunda College of Agriculture and Natural Resources College were joined during Bingu Wa Mutharika administration forming Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR).

Minister of Agriculture Irrigation and Water Development, Allan Chiyembekeza said during the Second Reading of the Bill 'Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Amendment)', that excluding the two institutions from forming LUANAR the country stands to benefit more.  

"Despite delinking of Chitedze and ARET from LUANAR, there will be strong collaboration between these two institutions and LUANAR on research technology, dissemination as well as teaching.

Staff from these institutions should be allowed to teach at LUANAR, conduct research and supervising research but with agreed time allocations and associated rewards while retaining their core functions over bride research to address national agricultural research problems." Said Chiyembekeza

He further told the house that the amended legislation apart from enabling ARET and Chitedze Research Station maintain their identities and core functions, said ARET will return its mandate of promoting tobacco production and remain as a centre of excellence for tobacco and no loss of jobs at both institutions;

"Government control of the National Agriculture Research Agenda will be maintained, the cost of relocating Regulatory and Technical the functions from Chitedze Research Station and ARET and Re-orientation of the other research stations will be avoided and the future of the international Agriculture Research Centres that are based at Chitedze Research Station will also be ensured." he added

The minister mentioned that integrating Chitedze Research Station into LUANAR would have brought more negative implications which includes: loss of Government control of the National Agriculture Research Agenda; High cost of relocating Regulatory, Technical and the Advisory functions from Chitedze; 

“Shifting priority for Agriculture Research, re-orientation of the rest of the research stations in the ministry, uncertainty over the livestock of research and infrastructure and uncertainty over the future on the international agriculture research centres that are housed at Chitedze Research centre." He said

The minister also noted that Government created ARET as the model for Public Private Partnership which the country needs to learn from and replicate to continue championing in the production of tobacco in this country.

Responding to the bill, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson on Agriculture, Felix Jumbe made no objection to the provisions in the bill.

However, Jumbe said; "Including Chitedze in LUANAR it was a quite an anomaly. We would rather wish Chitedze become a Commission and excluded from Ministry of Agriculture"

Similarly, People's Party (PP) shadow Minister of Agriculture, Dr. James Munthali supported the bill but taunted the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Government for making a u-turn over the decision it made some years ago.

ARET was established in 1995 through a Trust deed with the ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development and Tobacco Association of Malawi (TAMA) as donors and trustees. TAMA and some stakeholders in the tobacco industry resisted the integration of ARET into LUANAR.