Malawian Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe unveiled on Friday the 2006/07 budget which aims to boost the country's agriculture sector by raising allocation to agricultural and irrigation programs.

Allocation to the Ministry of Agriculture will be raised to 43 million U.S. dollars from last year's 14 million dollars while the Ministry of Water and Irrigation will get a lifted funding of 14 million dollars from 6 million dollars in 2005/06, according to the new budget, which is yet to be passed by the parliament.

"This is not only the responsibility of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board and our executive, but it is also a responsibility of this parliament to pass the budget because it anchors the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) with the fund, which is crucial to multilateral debt relief," Gondwe said in a speech.

The IMF board will meet later this month to decide whether the impoverished southern African nation qualifies for debt relief, which will only occur after legislators pass the budget.

Both agriculture and water and irrigation programs are considered crucial to fighting hunger in Malawi, where about five million out of its 12 million people were in need of food aid in 2005 following a severe drought that hit most part of the southern Africa.

Gondwe also pledged to continue the fertilizer and maize subsidy program which is believed to have improved agriculture production in the 2005/06 farming season.

The budget also proposed to reduce spending to 28.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2006/07 from 32.2 percent in 2005/ 06.

Source: Xinhua