Location: Malawi

Duration: 2010-2015

Partner Organizations: Environment Africa

Agriculture contributes approximately 35% of Malawi’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides employment to over 80% of the population. More than 90% of the population are smallholder farmers who live in the rural areas surviving on less than US$1 a day. In the past two decades, agricultural productivity has been declining in the country due to land degradation, inappropriate farming practices, and variability of rainfall. Intensive land degradation has been and continues to be one of the biggest threats to sustainable agriculture in Malawi. Continuous loss of soil fertility has massively contributed to general reduction of crop yields, food insecurity and loss of income. With a population of about 13 million, the country is also facing enormous deforestation. Estimates reveal that over 50,000 hectares of forest cover are being lost every year due to wanton tree cutting along with the heavy dependence on the use of fuel wood which accounts for over 90% of the country’s aggregate energy requirement. Rapid population growth has created an increased demand for fuel wood and the need for agricultural expansion to feed the increasing population, but with most of the suitable land already under cultivation, massive chunks of forests have been cleared. Additionally with the remarkable change in the climate, Malawians, particularly rural poor communities, are vulnerable to the impacts of a range of shocks hazards. These shocks have included natural hazards such as droughts, dry spells, riverine flash floods, and hail storms are more frequent and intense than was the case a decade ago. Most of these climate hazards have adversely impacted the food and water availability, energy and the sustainable livelihoods of rural communities. This situation has been worsened by the fact that there are few initiatives that are specifically targeted at promoting crop and livestock diversification, or the growing of crop varieties or rearing livestock species that are tolerant to the erratic rainfall and drought.

Progressio along with its partner organization Environment Africa are working on promoting the adoption of complimentary soil fertility management practices including agro-forestry, use of organic manure, crop diversification and conservation agriculture to cushion the increasing and unaffordable cost of inorganic methods of farming and the effect on climate change.

This project is run in cooperation with EAfrica and the livelihoods project in Zimbabwe. It is currently being restructured.

Our partner organization:

EA (Environment Africa) is a Private Voluntary Organization whose main aim is to generate action towards protection, management and sustainable utilisation of natural resources for sustainable development.