A third-year student at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Letson Sikweya, has emphasized the need for the government to introduce tax incentives for agribusinesses to stimulate agribusiness entrepreneurships in Malawi.
Sikweya made the sentiments during his presentation at fifth National Research Dissemination Conference currently underway at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.
The National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) has organized the three-day conference to provide a platform for researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs to showcase their research outputs.
The conference is being held under the theme “Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Towards a Productive and Resilient Nation” and has drawn participation from university students, lecturers, professors, innovators and researchers, among others.
In his presentation, Sikweya said taxes remain a great hindrance to viable agribusinesses.
“Taxes are one of the hindrances, or the impediments, that keep smallholder farmers away from agricultural productivity. A lot of farmers would want to do agriculture entrepreneurship, or may want to trade their products, but due to taxes, they might fail to do so because some taxes are so much higher to the point that small scale farmers cannot pay,” he said.
Sikweya, therefore, asked the government to consider removing taxes or introducing tax incentives and holidays to attract investment as well as improving profitability, which would eventually stimulate growth.
“Tax incentives and holidays would attract investment by making new ventures more financially viable and encouraging expansion, particularly for small and growing businesses that may lack access to capital,” he said.
He also echoed calls by the NCST Vice Board Chairperson, Dr. Cecilia Maliwichi Nyirenda, for increased resource allocation towards research and development, challenging that Malawi cannot attain its Malawi 2063 (MW2063) development agenda without research.
In her remarks, Nyirenda had lamented that underinvestment in research and development limits Malawi’s capacity to generate new technologies and enhance productivity in strategic sectors.
“Malawi’s current investment in research and development stands at 0.17% of GDP, which is significantly below the African Union target of 1% and the global average of 2.2%. This underinvestment limits Malawi’s capacity to generate new technologies and enhance productivity in strategic sectors. For example, while agriculture employs over 80% of our population, it contributes only 23% to GDP, largely due to insufficient investment in research, innovation in crop varieties, irrigation systems, and mechanization,” she said.
It is expected that by close of the conference, over 100 research outputs will have been presented covering fields such as agriculture, health, climate change, energy, education, digital technology, industry, and social sciences.