‘Value addition only way for farmers’

By MAILESI BANDA VALUE addition is the only way farmers will get value for their money, since selling their produce has proven to be a challenge because of the low prices offered, an Information and Communication University researcher, Gift Banda has said.

Mr. Banda, who has invented a mobile peanut butter and cooking oil machine said his invention was aimed at enabling farmers get value for their investment.

Speaking when he gave a presentation at the International Multi-Disciplinary Conference, he said the project would empower small-scale farmers. The machine would also reduce on the cost of production since the farmer would process the produce locally.

"This project will change the lives of farmers especially smallscale farmers since they will be able to process their produce and earn more for the value added to the produce,” Mr Banda said.

Mr Banda said the machine would be affordable to smallscale farmers because of availability of the raw materials used in its production. He said projects like the mobile peanut butter making machine would promote value addition and improve the livelihoods of rural communities.

He explained that the machine had the load capacity of about 50 kilogrammes of groundnuts, and appealed to financial institutions and other partners to help increase the production capacity of the machine and enable farmers access it.

"There is need for financers to support this project so that we can empower small-scale farmers and enable them make extra money from the value added produce,” said Mr Banda.