Malawi farmers find relief from FAO project after severe floods
Smallholder farmers in the flood-prone districts of Phalombe, Mangochi and Nsanje in Malawi are now optimistic to stand on their feet following prospects of good harvest after severe floods washed away their fields last year.
FAO project supports over 2,700 farmers stand on their feet after severe floods wash away their fields.
Through a six-month “Emergency Input Support to Populations affected by floods in Phalombe, Mangochi and Nsanje districts of the southern region of Malawi” project running up to December 2013, FAO supported 2, 700 farmers - translating into an indirect population of 14, 850 people – who each received 3kg of maize seed, 1kg pigeon peas, 1kg of cow peas, 2kgs of Phaseolus bean, 15kg of fertilizer and 20kg of Urea top dressing fertilizer.
Agatha Thomas, 27, is all smiles at the prospects of bumper harvest. Her field is a typical example of a young woman eager to learn new farming technologies and poised for greater heights in farming.
“I no longer wake up at night thinking I cannot feed my children. I am now hopeful to harvest enough corn and legumes,” said Thomas, mother of three, whose field was washed away by the floods.
The project crucially aimed at improving the quality of life of vulnerable groups through the provision of agricultural inputs and capacity building on the growing of diversified and improved short cycle varieties of crops and utilization of water collection points or residual moisture through small scale irrigation. Through the project, farmers were trained on good agricultural practices for maize and legume production using appropriate post-harvest handling techniques in order to make households affected by floods and dry spells recover from extreme climate condition shocks that predisposed them to food insecurity and abject poverty.