It is 8 o’clock in Balaka District, which is split by the Shire River. The sun is scorching, a typical weather in Chikalogwe Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Sawali.
The soil is thinly wet following the previous day’s showers and smallholder farmers have ridged their fields in readiness for the 2024/25 planting season.
However, these farmers are still waiting for the rains, which have been elusive lately.
Meanwhile, Janet Mingu keeps an eye on fenced rain gauges. She records the amount of rains soaking the village to inform farmers whether it is enough for planting.
“I measured the rain that fell yesterday and it wasn’t enough for farmers to plant. They have to wait a little longer,” explains the community weather forecaster trained under Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (Picsa) project.
The initiative, financed by Adaptation Fund, has installed seven rain gauges since 2020 to give farmers real-time information they can use to make big decisions, including when to plant.
This brings the count of rain gauges in the drought-prone district to 24.
“In the past, farmers could plant twice due to lack of knowledge. Right now, we tell them not to rush to plant if the rain amount is less than 25 millimetres,” says Mingu.
Balaka district assistant meteorologist Peter Chambunga says the weather station, which also measures temperature, wind speed and wind direction, helps farmers to make big calls amid uncertainties worsened by climate change.
“The weather information also helps policy makers, researchers and forecasters to make informed decisions for common good,” he says.
Community weather forecaster Govati Mbeju of Maole Village, T/A Nyambi in Machinga District, says the rural population relies on the rainfall data he collects when it rains.
The Picsa project has installed 15 rain gauges in the district, with six of them in Nyambi Extension Planning Area which covers the territories of T/As Nyambi, Nsale, Kapoloma and Chiwalo.
“Rain information helps farmers to plan in order to graduate from subsistence farming to commercial farming,” he says.
Picsa also distributes goats on the condition that the recipients pass the kids to their neighbours.
The animals help the farmers cope with effects of climate change if crops fail.
The initiative also includes crop insurance cover which pays farmers when crops fail.
Zomba district commissioner Reinghard Chavula says the weather-related project is pivotal to accelerate national progress to end all forms of hunger in line with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Number Two.
SDG13 is a call to strengthen resilience and adaption to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
“It is also in line with the Malawi 2063 development blueprint which prioritises agricultural productivity and commercialisation,” he says.
Apart from the rain gauges, the project supports the construction of irrigation schemes, conservation agriculture and insurance payouts to farmers amid frequent climate-related disasters.
In November this year, World Food Programme (WFP), which rolled out the Adaptation Fund project in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, launched the annual crop insurance pay-out in Chikwawa District.
WFP deputy country director Simon Denhere commended government for its commitment to cushion farmers from the adverse effects of the climate crisis.
He said: “Malawi is increasingly facing more frequent, intense and unpredictable climate shocks which perpetuate a cycle of food and nutrition insecurity, livelihood instability and deepened poverty among vulnerable communities.
“To address these effects, WFP has partnered with the government to implement integrated risk management strategies that address both climatic and non-climatic factors, helping to build resilience among food-insecure populations.”
Denhere said the climate risk management interventions such as crop insurance and real-time rain-related information, enhances Malawians’ resilience to disasters.
In the 2023/24 farming season, drought caused by the El Nino weather pattern scorched crops belonging to 52 000 farmers, especially in the Southern Region.
About 35 700 farmers in Balaka, Machinga, Zomba, Mangochi, Phalombe, Blantyre, Chikwawa and Nsanje districts have received more than K2.2 billion.
Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services director general Lucy Mtilatila says the Picsa project is empowering farmers with information to plant crops with reliable rains, use drought-resistant crops and early maturing seed.
“My department is working with the Ministry of Agriculture at district level to ensure that farmers achieve food, income and nutrition security,” she says.
Adaptation Fund national project coordinator Gilbert Kupunda says the rain gauge stations comes in response to farmers’ demand for reliable access to weather information in their communities as rain become unpredictable and yields dwindle due to climate-related weather shocks.
He said: “The project aims at providing farmers with climate related information for their decision-making processes, particularly in seasonal planning and climate risk.” management.”
