Established in 1980 in Lilongwe, the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) – under the Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development (DAHLD) – supports national efforts to control and eradicate animal and zoonotic diseases and enforce standards through its core functions, which include:

• Providing sustainable animal disease diagnostics and investigations to support field services
• Conducting demand-driven animal health research to develop commercially attractive and cost-effective technologies
• Protecting consumers via veterinary public health services like meat and milk quality control and dairy inspections
• Ensuring livestock feed standards by registering and licensing processing plants
• Supplying epidemiological data for policy-making, and
• Training field and laboratory staff to enhance laboratory services nationwide.

The current staff of 24 technicians, mainly composed of veterinary specialists, has over 44 years of experience in offering veterinary services.

Improving Quality Standards through Strengthened Regulatory Oversight

This project demonstrated to other development agencies the role of the market systems approach in enhancing the competitiveness of Malawi’s poultry industry, with a particular emphasis on the Business Enabling Environment (BEE).

Completed in March 2022, this 18-month partnership focused on assessing the current standards in poultry input (feeds) and output (meat) markets and advocating for the review, amendment, and enforcement of relevant standards through stakeholder dialogues and engagement. This approach aimed to enhance the poultry industry’s potential to attract more investment, grow the sector, and increase competitiveness. The project reached 108 Community Animal Health Workers trained in poultry production standards. At a total cost of £80,936, the CASA contribution was £61,889 through technical assistance and a grant.

Updated: December 2024