LILONGWE, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has officially launched a 10-year Implementation Plan for Malawi 2063 Agenda with a call to every Malawian to take part in the implementation of the Plan for a better Malawi.
In his keynote address during the launch in the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday, the Malawi leader described the event as the country's way of heeding the wisdom of the Chinese proverb that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".
Chakwera further described the Malawi 2063 Agenda as "a photograph of the new Malawi" the country is building and that Malawians should all hold hands to deal with all stumbling obstacles that will stand in the way.
"As a nation, we needed to agree on what needs to be done in the first 10 years of that 42-year project," said the president, adding that "as we take our first steps onto this path and embark on this journey, we must do so with full awareness that ours is not just a journey of a thousand miles, but also a journey of a thousand roadblocks, distractions, and pitfalls, all of which must be surmounted and overcome."
He stressed that there's need to effect fundamental changes in farming at household level in line with Pillar 1 of the Agenda -- Agricultural Productivity and Commercialization, which among other areas, is focusing on agricultural diversification, commercialization, and mechanization.
The president also emphasized the need to digitize farming in order to make farming more efficient and more productive.
"We need to re-educate our youth to understand that farming is one of the surest paths to the wealth and prosperity they desire," he said.
Chakwera has since challenged young people in the country's colleges and universities to be aspiring either to use their education to make the country's farming smarter, or to use farming as a foundation for building wealth.
When successfully implemented, the 10-year Plan for Malawi 2063 will see Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, promote to lower middle income status by 2030, while the long term Malawi 2063 Agenda aiming at transforming Malawi to upper middle income status. Enditem
