Agricultural Research Services

Commodities/Areas

• DARS is divided into six commodity areas;
• Cereals: maize, rice, sorghum/millet and wheat;
• Horticulture: vegetables, spices, fruits, tree nut, coffee, roots and tubers;
• Grain Legumes, Oil seeds and Fiber Crops: groundnut, sunflower, bean, pegionpea, cowpeas, soy bean and cotton;
• Livestock and Pastures: dairy, beef and small ruminants;
• Soils and Agricultural Engineering: soil fertility and agronomy, farm machinery and agro-processing, irrigation and drainage;
• Plant Protection: field disease and insect pest management; and crop storage.

Mandate

To coordinate all technical departments of the ministry of agriculture, irrigation and water development in the delivery of agricultural extension services.

Implementation Arrangements

The Department implements its activities through Agricultural Development Divisions which are located in eight ecological zones of the country namely, Lilongwe, Blantyre, Salima, Kasungu, Machinga, Shire Valley, Karonga and Mzuzu and in all the 28 districts in the country. The Department offers various services to the farming communities through sub branches namely:

Extension Methodologies and Systems

Responsible for developing extension approaches and systems for extension delivery.

Agricultural Communication Branch

Responsible for developing and distributing print and electronic agricultural messages.

Agribusiness development

Responsible for promoting commercialization of agriculture.