Making rice farmers produce more
The vast rice paddies of Karonga at the northern tip of Malawi illustrate the country’s potential to feed its population of over 20 million.
Travellers on the M1 between Karonga Town and Songwe Border Post, the gateway to Tanzania, point to the rice fields as an example of how Malawians can harness abundant water to create a green fortress against hunger and poverty.
Some prefer calling the green strip along the gateway to Tanzania a greenbelt to emulate.
However, the paddies weren’t as green last year when the hopes of most rice farmers in Karonga District were dashed by drought.
“Our livelihoods were shattered by the lengthy dry spells that reduced the crop yields in the 2022/23 growing season. We couldn’t afford food as grain prices kept rising, with vendors cashing in on our misery,” says Elizabeth Nyirenda, 57.
The district experiences chronic dry spells and floods, the most common disasters as Malawi grapples with the worsening effects of climate change and environmental degradation.
This affects food and nutrition security and agriculture production for most smallholder farmers in Malawi.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (UN) reports that environmental degradation has made Malawians susceptible to the effects of climate change.
Nyirenda, from Mwenilondo near Karonga Town, says she lost her family’s reliable source of food and income.
“Rice is our lifeline and we struggled financially because we did not harvest anything,” she says.
The rice farmer uses proceeds from rice to produce maize, the staple grain for Malawians.
“We experienced hunger as I also failed to grow the staple because I did not have money to buy inputs,” she says. “Unfortunately, I did not qualify for the Affordable Input Programme (AIP) as the government cut the list of beneficiaries from 2.5 million to 1.5 million.”
The food situation looked grim for the mother of three as more than 3.8 million Malawians needed food aid to avoid dehumanising hunger and poverty.
However, at the end of the growing season, she got half a tonne of rice packaged in 10 bags.
The Greenbelt Authority supported 100 farmers in Nthola-Ilola Cooperative with farm inputs, including rice seed.
The authority shipped two metric tonnes of rice seed to the farmers’ group.
“Each farmer got 20 kilogrammes on the promise to repay 60 kg after harvesting,” Nyirenda recalls.
She repaid the seed loan after seizing the second chance.
Brighton Msume, another cooperative member, says the timely intervention saved the drought-stricken farming community from degrading hunger and poverty.
Without this help, we would have gone into the second season of no production because we had nothing to plant or fall back on,” he says.
Nthola-Ilola cooperative chairperson Mbachi Nyasulu hails the Greenbelt Authority for improving the farmers’ production capacity.
“The group produced over 100 metric tonnes from the two metric tonnes of seed. This was a big win for us who had nothing to grow. Our lives have improved,” he says.
Greenbelt Authority chief executive officer Eric Chidzungu is pleased that the initiative has helped the rice farmers resume their winning ways.
He said: “As climate change bites harder, we want farmers to be productive and increase their harvests. We are happy to have contributed to their livelihoods and food security.”
The Greenbelt Authority has constructed a 700-hectare rice scheme in Mwenilondo to complement the magnificent Nthola-Ilola Rice Factory which can process 50 bags per day.
