Preparations for the forthcoming 15th National Agriculture Fair are underway, the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and industry (MCCCI) has confirmed.

The fair will be held from August 30 – September 2, 2018 at Chichiri Trade Fair grounds in Blantyre.

In an interview with YFM, MCCCI Head of Communications, Millie Kasunda said over 110 companies are expected to take part in the fair of which 87 have already confirmed their participation.

Kasunda said the chamber acknowledges the potential of the agriculture sector in the country’s economic drive in terms of wealth creation through production of agricultural products and services that add value.

The fair will be held under the theme “Access to finance, value addition and markets –key to agri-based industrialization”.

“Our theme this year emphasizes the need for players in the agriculture sector to focus on value addition to products for economic acceleration and transformation,” Kasunda explained.

She said, the agriculture sector which currently represents 25% of the country’s GDP remains Malawi’s core economic driver and supports about 70% of the population as the primary source of livelihood.

Kasunda added that the value added agriculture exports will not only improve the country’s balance of trade, but will also bring about positive economic developments such as jobs within the agribusiness value chains.

The fair is expected to provide transformative opportunities for smallholder farmers as well as large agricultural entities to unlock wealth through high value product trading and exchange to both local and regional international markets.