Agroforestry in Malawi
Picture courtesy of Oxfam.
Agriculture is the backbone of the Malawian economy. In Southern Malawi, it is estimated that over 93% of people derive their livelihoods from agriculture either directly or indirectly. Food and income insecurity in this area is a major problem. One prominent cause of this is limited arable land available for their farming-based livelihoods. As a result, many communities cultivate infertile soil and often fail to produce enough food to earn an income or even to feed their families. One solution is to use chemical fertilisers, but many people in rural Malawi cannot afford to buy these chemicals.
In 2008, we provided almost £100,000 in funding over two years to support a project to improve food and income security for poor communities in two districts of Southern Malawi. The project, run in partnership with Oxfam, is helping to support 3,000 poor and vulnerable households in 150 villages. The project aims to train the communities in agroforestry, which involves planting trees and shrubs alongside their crops, as a cheap and sustainable way to improve soil fertility and increase crop yield.
In the first six months, a great deal of progress has already been made. Meetings have been held in all the villages to raise awareness on agroforestry, over 200 tree nurseries have been established in the villages, and over 85% of the households have been trained in agroforestry techniques, nursery management and seed sowing. Furthermore, farmers have already planted over 250,000 tree seedlings on their land. Tonya (pictured above) has received 56 tree seedlings which she has planted in her maize garden to improve soil fertility. “I do strongly believe in the future, I will be able to grow my crops without having to spend money on the expensive inorganic fertiliser”.
Posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 in News
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