On 15 February, the General Representative of Flanders in Southern Africa, Geraldine Reymenants and the Deputy General Representative of Flanders in Malawi, Sofie Geerts visited a new animal feed plant operated by Ziweto Agri-Vet shops. Ziweto (livestock in the Chichewa language) was launched in 2013 with the objective of addressing the poor health of livestock in Malawi.

Initially, Ziweto imported animal feed, medicines and vitamins, primarily from the Netherlands and India. However, they soon realised that these measures were not sustainable and that the only way to provide affordable animal health for Malawian livestock was to produce quality animal feed and vitamins locally. With the support of several partners of the Government of Flanders, this ambition has become a reality.

SEED supported Ziweto to build the animal feed plant which produces feed for chickens, pigs and dairy cows, while Exchange vzw brought in animal feed experts from Flemish company AVEVE to provide training on the correct mixtures for different animal feeds.

Ensuring that more products are locally produced in Malawi instead of importing them is an important strategy for addressing forex shortages in the country and for building a much needed economic base. In achieving their objective Ziweto are contributing to these goals and to the economic wellbeing of the country.