MALAWI LAUNCHES ONE COUNTRY ONE PRIORITY PRODUCT PROGRAMME TO REVIVE BANANA VALUE CHAIN
Food and Agriculture Organization has launched the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) programme in Malawi, with a focus on developing a sustainable banana value chain aimed at boosting agricultural productivity and exports.
The initiative, implemented with technical support from the China South-South Cooperation, seeks to strengthen all stages of the banana industry, including production, processing, storage, and market linkages, positioning bananas as one of Malawi’s key strategic export crops.
The programme was officially launched by Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Thoko Tembo, who described it as a critical step toward revitalizing the country’s banana industry. He noted that the sector suffered a major setback following the outbreak of banana bunchy top disease more than a decade ago, which led to yield losses estimated between 70 and 90 percent.
Speaking at the launch, Ali Said Yesuf said significant progress has already been made, including the establishment of 24 community-managed banana plantations and two irrigated plantations.
He added that integrated crop management technologies have also been introduced to improve productivity.
Yesuf further said Malawi is now scaling up interventions such as expanding tissue culture techniques for mass plant propagation, introducing improved post-harvest handling and processing technologies, and establishing agro-innovation hubs to promote learning, collaboration, and investment in the sector.
He explained that these efforts will be reinforced through a new FAO-China SSC project, a dedicated banana sector investment plan, and stronger public-private partnerships aimed at ensuring long-term sustainability.
The OCOP programme is currently being implemented in 35 African countries, supporting 20 priority agricultural value chains from production through to markets, with the broader goal of enhancing food security and regional economic integration.
