Since 2013, IFPRI Malawi has partnered with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture & Natural Resources (LUANAR) to offer mentorship and capacity building to promising young master’s students at Bunda College through a USAID-funded program called the Bunda Grant Scheme. To date, IFPRI has offered support in refining and publishing research to five cohorts of nearly a dozen young researchers, most of whom have now published their studies with guidance and mentorship from senior IFPRI researchers.
This week, IFPRI Malawi visited LUANAR and donated a set of laptop computers specifically to help in research activities undertaken for the Bunda Grant Scheme. During the handover, Dr. Kennedy Machira, chair of LUANAR's department of agricultural and applied economics and coordinator for the Bunda Grant Scheme, reiterated his department's commitment to ensuring the success of the scheme in fast-tracking completion of research projects. The three donated computers will directly serve current and future participants in the mentorship program with IFPRI.
Earlier this year, IFPRI made a similar computer donation to the Department of Agricultural Planning Services (DAPS) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development (MoAIWD).