CHANCELLOR COLLEGE PARTICIPATES IN EBAFOSA LAUNCH

EBAFOSA is the first all-inclusive pan-African institution and framework that provides a platform for all stakeholders in a country – including governments and their agencies, the public sector, private sector, educational and research institutions, individual publics/citizens, CBOs, international intergovernmental organizations, NGOs and CSOs – to collaborate in a participatory manner in developing and implementing policy solutions to upscale EBA-driven agriculture and its value chains to combat food insecurity, climate change, ecosystem degradation and poverty in Africa.  The University of Malawi is the Secretariat, led by Dr. Levis Eneya, Dean of Science at Chancellor College. Members of the EBAFOSA Bureau include Dr. Yanira Ntupanyama (Chief Director in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), Prof. Sosten Chiotha (Director, LEAD), Doreen Chanje (Women Farmers Association), and Faith Zumazuma (YONECO).

Realizing its role as part of the EBAFOSA Secretariat, Chancellor College displayed some of the EBA projects it is implementing with the involvement of local communities. These included the Malawi Farmer to Farmer Agro-ecology (MAFFA) project, Tipindundule ndi Nsomba, Nsomba Nchuma, the Farmer-Led Agroecological Farming (Seed Sovereignty and Food Sovereignty) project, and the Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic, a project by students led by Mr. Chikosa Banda of Faculty of Law. The Principal of Chancellor College, Professor Richard Tambulasi attended the event and the private sector engagement meeting that followed it on 7 June to show full support and commitment of the University of Malawi to the cause. 

In his launch address, the State President observed that the launch of EBAFOSA means that Malawi will benefit in increased food and nutritional security, enhanced ecosystem productivity and community climate resilience. He further reiterated that through its functions, the Assembly will also help enhance value chains, link farm production with opportunities for both damaged and supply value chain. He then called upon all concerned stakeholders to support the establishment and operationalization of EBAFOSA for the betterment of Malawians. The University of Malawi, Chancellor College in particular, is delighted to play a leading role and to be part of this movement in line with its mission of being the primary institution of higher learning in Malawi by providing quality teaching, research and professional services to enable the realization of poverty reduction through sustainable and equitable social, economic and technological development of the country.