By Watipaso Mzungu
Samuel Magwira, a 56-year-old smallholder farmer from Mpilisi Village in Sub Traditional Authority (ST/A) Mpilisi in Balaka, is excited with the prospect of realizing huge profits from his sorghum crop this year.
By Vincent Nhlema
In 2018, Luwiza Petulo, a 56yr old female farmer, from Chiphala Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Zulu in Mchinji District, decided to learn how to read, write and calculate, when the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM) introduced some adult literacy and numeracy lessons in her area, with support from the Egmont Trust.
The German Ambassador to Malawi, His Excellency Jürgen T. Borsch, on Froday, 24th April, 2020, made a symbolic presentation of COVID-19 prevention materials to NASFAM in a bid to help smallholder farmers protect themselves from the pandemic.
Each passing day, thousands of charcoal bags enter the main cities and towns of Malawi. One would think such people have personal woodlots from which they cut down trees for charcoal production. Unfortunately, they do not.
South Africa-based World Farmers Organisation (WFO), Dr. Theo de Jager, has challenged the Malawi Government to incentivise the agriculture sector in order to attract youth involvement in food production and value chain initiatives.
Jager, who is also a farmer in his own capacity, made the remarks in his keynote address at the 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and launch of the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM) five year Strategic Development Plan in Lilongwe on 27 January 2020, held under the theme: Building a Sustainable Agribusiness that Delivers Value and Creates Impact. The meeting drew farmer participants from across the country.