The Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Tourism have commissioned a tomato processing factory at Jenda in Mzimba district.

The development has brought excitement among farmers who were desperate for the facility for years following malfunctioning of another.

Chairperson for Camphire Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP)  group Victoria Mndhlane said they will now add value to their tomato produce.

Mndhlane said the equipment which they are using to produce juice, jam, and sauce from tomato can also be used to make jam and juice from mangoes and other fruits.

She called upon the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) to certify their products to boost their sales.

District Commissioner for the M’mbelwa District Council Thomas Chirwa said the commissioning of the factory was timely considering that Jenda is growing rapidly and has a viable economic potential.

“Let me emphasize to the ministry of trade that there is a need to expand the factory so that a lot of products are made from crops like sunflower and soya which are available around here,” said Chirwa.

Trade minister Henry Mussa said the K35 million factory is in line with a government initiative to promote small-scale industries where local farmers or artisans would add value to their farm products for
national economic growth.

He said his ministry will ensure that MBS certifies the products from the factory currently being manned by Champhira COMSIP cooperative which has 60 female members and four male members

The factory was constructed with financial support from the African Development Bank (ADB) through the Local Development Fund (LDF) while the machinery was supplied by One Village One Product (OVOP).