Fannie Gondwe: Owner of Perisha Agro and Packaging Enterprise

In the past, people who ventured into farming despite having higher education such as a bachelors or a masters degree were mocked for wasting their resources and time into the soil.

This was so because farming was regarded as something that should be done by people with no background of education, especially from the village.

But tables have turned now as many educated people are going back to their roots and buying land to venture into different types of farming.

Fannie Gondwe is one of the few women who left a higher position in to concentrate on farming and is doing very well.

“All along I loved farming because my father was an agriculture extension officer and also a farmer. I stopped working in 2014 to pursue a business in farming. I registered it in 2012, but it started operations in 2015,” she said.

Her business is called Perisha Agro and Packaging Enterprise.

It aims at improving the nutritional status of women and children under five who are more vulnerable to stunting and malnutrition, especially the rural population. 

“We, therefore, promote the growing and consumption of locally grown biofortified food products which are drought tolerant, easy to manage, early maturing and gluten free.

 “In 2015, I started multiplying orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) vines and cassava cuttings. And in 2019, I started processing orange fleshed sweet potato flour, cassava starch, high quality cassava flour, fermented cassava flour [kondowole] and orange maize flour,” she said.

This year, the company has added OFSP puree, bean flour, soya flour and rice flour. 

They are also processing poultry feed from the waste of sweet potato, cassava, orange maize, including soya and additives.

Fannie’s background is in finance and administration. She worked for the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry as regional finance and administration manager for Southern Africa Region.

“I am into business now because I got it from my parents who used to share their farming proceeds with us when we were younger. They taught us to take farming as a business.

“I couldn’t imagine seeing myself where I am now 10 years ago. Perisha Agro and Packaging Enterprise has learnt and achieved a lot in the process while creating more job opportunities for others in communities and we thank God,” she beamed.

The farmer also disclosed that through her farming and manufacturing business, she has helped many women to start their own businesses.

She enjoys teaching and working with smallholder farmers, making flour from different products.

“This year, I have worked with 320 women famers in Santhe Kasungu, specifically on orange fleshed sweet potato. I distributed the vines, gave them land to plant and bought back the sweet potato roots that they harvested for processing purposes.

She said:”I know how life is in rural areas and I want these women to be making a living. I train them, provide readily available market, link them to stakeholders and other markets.

“So these women farmers are expected to organise clubs and register with our organisation for proper identification. When I look at these women, I see an opportunity to help. Every person deserves a better life and it has to start with individuals and their few resources.”

Fannie noted that women should learn to uplift each other no matter how small or big their businesses.

She suggested linking each other to markets, financial opportunities or trainings when necessary

She added that currently, her company sells their flour products in different outlets such as supermarkets, convenience shops and wholesales.

“We have just started exporting OFSP flour to regional marketing. In five years time, we plan to reach all the regions of Malawi and export to the regional and international markets,” she said.

She added that her journey has not been without challenges, but with dedication, hard work and commitment, Fannie testifies about her business growth.

Perisha Agro and Packaging Enterprise has received financial help from different stakeholders.

Fannie acknowledges the Keith Fullerton White man, United Nations Development Programme/Growth accelerator, AGRA (Value4Her) and Centre for Agriculture Transformation, CIP and Feed the Future for bringing her to where she is.

She also attributes her success to the technical support by Harvest Plus, CIAT, the academia and government.

She said:”And in Growth Accelerator, I was in Cohort 2 and we received great support financially and technically in our processing business. UNDP, MHub, Growth Africa /Growth Accelerator helped us to expand our flour processing business to be able to handle the waste/pollution by processing it to animal feed.” 

Fannie said her favourite quote is by her role model Hippocrates: “Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.”

Her goal in life is to look up to all humans who sacrifice to bring out nutritious food for good health.

She said her planning, goal setting and hard work has helped her to be where she is now and to balance her time with family as well as her career.

The hardest decision she has ever made in her life was to quit her well paying position and start full time entrepreneurship.

When asked what she would do if she had a chance to start all over again in life, she disclosed she could have ventured into entrepreneurship in her twenties not later.

Her advice to young women is make the right choices to avoid regrets.

“Let young women and men make their professional choices independently. Entrepreneurship should be taken just as a white collar job and it works wonders when one starts early,” she said.

In her free time, Fannie loves to cook, chat, laugh with her family and listening to gospel music.

She is the fourth born child of John and Mary Mhone of Chidumayo Mhone Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mtwalo in Mzimba.

She is married to Paul Gondwe of Boti Village, T/A Chikulamayembe in Rumphi.

Together they have three children, Faith, Paul and Delano Gondwe.

She has an MBA from Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute (ESAMI) and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Cyprus University.

She did her primary and secondary education in the northern region of Malawi, including Mzuzu CCAP primary school and Livingstonia Secondary school.