On September 3 2026, World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) secretary general Celeste Saulo announced 100 percent certainty of the El-Niño phenomenon. This came barely a week after the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) projected that 23 districts face drought driven by the anticipated below-normal rainfall and prolonged dry spells. This may lead to low harvests and high threat of pests such as fall armyworm. As our Staff Writer KONDWANI KAMIYALA reports, technologies developed at the Lilongwe University of Agricuture and Natural Resources (Luanar) could help cushion farmers from some of the challenges affecting agriculture.
Speaking during a Disaster of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS) for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) stakeholders meeting in June, director Lucy Mtilatila painted a gloomy picture. The El-Niño threat the country is facing is real.
Calling for strengthened preparedness interventions, Mtilatila said: “El Niño has started developing in the eastern tropical pacific and the temperatures are getting warmer. We are likely to receive below normal rainfall. As a country, we need to start preparing now to mitigate the effects.”
Last month DoDMA estimated that 14 Southern Region districts face severe drought and flood risk while seven of the nine districts in the Centre will have moderate drought and only two of the Northern Region’s six district are at a lower drought risk.
According to Luanar soil scientist and plant nutrition associate professor Joseph Chimungu, as the country faces the El-Niño phenomenon, soil ammendments using organo-mineral fertilisers they have developed over the past four years could help cushion the effects of the phenomenon ignited when trade winds weaken on the Pacific Ocean.
The fertilisers, said Chimungu, are engineered products that combine mineral nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium with organic matter such as compost, manure or biochar.
“Faced with the El-Niño phenomenon, organo-mineral fertilisers, which should not be confused with inorganic fertilisers, improve water retention in the soil. Given dry conditions, farmers stand to benefit apart from the other advantages,” said Chimungu.
Inorganic fertilisers like CAN, NPK or Urea which farmers use for top dressing and basal dressing only contain purely mineral salts like potassium, nitrogen and calcium.
He said the organo-mineral fertiliser is in two forms: Granulated, which is in classified as premium and standard categories, while the others are in pellets. With lower mineral content, standard fertiliser is cheaper to make it more affordable to local farmers.
“We came up with these technologies given the rising prices of fertilisers. If farmers do not have enough money, they can still buy at relatively cheaper price than inorganic fertiliser. Besides, these are rich in nutrients while at the same time improving soil health,” said Chimungu.
He further elaborated that the institution’s commercialization branch is working to find private sector partners to make the products available for local farmers. Prices will be determined by the branch.
According to him, the university previously released new varieties of indigenous vegetables like bonongwe.
Science commission support
Under Part VI of Section 24 of the Science and Technology Act of 2003, the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) is mandated to regulate, coordinate and support research, technology and innovation in Malawi.
Senior communication and public relations officer Sophie Gomani says the commission has been working with Luanar and other international partners such as the World Intellectual Properties Organisation (Wipo) and the United Development Programme (UNDP) since 2023 to develop the organo-mineral fertiliser, which will be commercialised on a larger scale. Wipo was financed the capacity building for the research while UNDP provided the equipment.
“Our mandate is to ensure that science, research and technology innovations are being used to address the challenges the country is facing. One of our major challenge is poor agricultural productivity due to soil fertility decline as well as affordability of fertilizer.
“This innovation seeks to address this specific challenge. We sought to identify a particular fertilizer that would work for Malawi. After the trial phase, we are working on the commercialization of the product,” said Gomani.
Research in pesticides
According to research assistant in the department of crop and soil science Aubrey Nkhata, Luanar has also produced pesticides for crop protection against, among other pests, fall armyworms which thrive in dry conditions.
He said they have developed four organic biopesticides are also environmental friendly and don’t pose health threats to humans. He added that there are three foliar pesticides Neem Oil, Azadron Organic Pesticide and Tobacco Leaf Powder and a soil-applied pesticide, Triple Plant Guard.
Nkhata added that the foliar pesticides applied to parts above the soil of crops like maize, tomatoes and beans to curb pests like fall army worms, aphids and white flies while the soil treatment deals with nematodes that most affect affect Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes.
“For a long time, we have relied on synthetic pesticides that are not environmentally friendly. Besides, they have chemicals that are hazardous to health. We use organic ingredients that are locally available,” he observed.
According to the agronomist, after several years of research, field trials and validation by the Agricultural Science Committee, they are also seeking private sector partners to upscale the technology.
“At the moment, farmers can access the products through our call-centre where they will be directed on nearest outlets. Since we are working with farmers in such districts as Chikwawa, Nsanje and Salima to get the raw materials, we are also providing extension on how they can use the products,” said Nkhata.
Not forgotten: Livestock
While some crop farmers face the threat of El-Niño, others depend on dairy cattle, and, as Luanar senior lecturer in the department of animal science Betty Kawonga puts it, the sector is also under the threat of climate change. To check that, she says the department has come with three technologies to improve productivity for livestock farmers.
With support from the Norwergian Embassy, they have developed the Luanar Mastitis Screening Reagent to detect animals that are suffering from the disease. In mild cases, the disease reduces milk production between 1.4 and 3.5 litres a day and in severe cases, eight litres are lost daily.
According to Kawonga, most farmers produce 10 litres a day, which they sell through bulking groups at an average of K900 per litre.
“Milk with mastitis is rejected at the bulking group, incurring losses on the farmer. For a long time, we have been using the imported California Masititis Screening Reagent which costs about $300 [about K523 284] to import. Our reagent and a paddle costs K40 000, which can be used for the whole lactating period of seven months. So farmers are saving,” she said.
According to her the locally formulated, low cost and easy to use reagent works within a minute, where a farmer collects milk samples on the paddle and after swirling will show reactions. When the disease is detected, farmers take their animals to a vetenarian for treatment.
Apart from the reagent, she said the university has also introduced the 90-centimetre gliricidia stem cutting which is used as fodder for animals. Where grass is scarce, farmers are encouraged to use gliricidia but Luanar noticed that most farmers are not using the plant.
“Most farmers are busy and seedlings were used to grow the plants. The seedlings require so much care and it took long for farmers to find feed. Under this technology, farmers can use stems and plant like they do with cassava vines. Within six months, farmers can harvest leaves that have a lot of biomass, which is good for crude protein,” said Kawonga.
According to her, the plant also fixes nitrogen, which improves soil health, thereby increasing yield of crops around it. “After a year, women can use the stems for cooking, thereby preventing deforestation,” she said.
Further, the institution has developed the Luanar Feed Application, a digital tool working on Android phones where farmers can learn how to make their own feed using locally available materials like maize bran, grass and groundnut shells.
Speaking recently after touring legume farmers in Chikwawa, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Roza Mbilizi said there is a knowledge gap between researchers and farmers on the ground. Her words ring true, not only for farmers of soya beans, common beans, groundnuts, pigeon peas and cowpeas.
The university, through its Bio-Innovations Lab, previously developed innoculants for beans, groundnuts, and soya beans through its Bio Innovations Lab to ammend the soil for more productivity.
Kawonga agrees with Mbilizi that research must trickle to farmers.
“For every innovation that we produce, we work with the agriculture ministry and release extension circulars which are distributed in all extension planning areas under district agriculture offices. We are working with farmers through their milk bulking groups where we disseminate information,” she said.
