The Pledge impact in Malawi

During a recent visit to the Malawi capital Lilongwe, the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge had the opportunity to speak with representatives from two companies with programmes in the country. 

Nutricare, which joined the Pledge in 2021, promotes nutrition-sensitive agribusiness to reduce malnutrition in the community. It processes insect powder that is used to fortify orange maize flour and also produces the nutritious staple porridge meal, Thanzidoo. Nearly 500,000 sachets of protein powders are sold door to door each year through a partnership with youth entrepreneurs and feed approximately 20,000 infants. 

As part of its commitment to the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge, NutriCare is developing a solar-powered, water-storage, and water-efficient irrigation project. With access to irrigation, farmers are able to diversify from maize to other crops such as sorghum, millet, cowpeas, green gram, and cassava.

ETG joined the Pledge in 2022, including a programme in Malawi through its subsidiary Agri Value Chain.  ETG has a wide expertise across multiple within the agricultural sector such as the sale of agricultural inputs, logistics, processing, and supply chain optimization. In Malawi, the company has a network of warehouses that allow farmers to access inputs and sell their products without needing to travel far.

The Zero Hunger Coalition spoke with Rajneesh Dabral, Agri Value Chain, Country Manager and Ken Gunsalu, Nutricare CEO about their work in Malawi and the role of the private sector in ending hunger.