Malawi - Malawi Nacala Rail and Port Value Addition Project

The project is designed to complement the Private Sector Department (OPSD3) Nacala Rail and Port Project in order to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth along the Nacala Corridor in Malawi. The Nacala Road Corridor is one of the important trade corridors in Southern Africa. The development of the corridor is critical to enhancing regional and international trade competitiveness particularly for landlocked countries such as Malawi. The road and rail transport infrastructure along the Corridor is considered to be "anchor infrastructure" along which spatial development in other economic sub-sectors can develop, such as energy, mining, agriculture, agro-forestry, fisheries, and tourism. The project will involve three main interventions, Those are: (i) building the capacity and facilitating access to markets and financial resources directed to growth oriented agribusiness entrepreneurs in selected rural and semi-rural areas in the Nacala Corridor region. This intervention will enable them to create or strengthen innovative and competitive rural agro-processing small and medium businesses that will develop a strong linkage with smallholder farmers and integrate them in their supply chain; (ii) supporting farmer institutions to improve capacity for advocacy and provision of relevant services to enhance sustainability; (iii) building the capacity of smallholder farmers to catalyze change of mindsets and gain a better understanding of farming as a business. The total project cost is estimated at USD 1.1 million.