Hours before sunrise, when Lilongwe City is fast asleep, 24-year-old Hopeson Malakichi hits the road walking about 25 kilometres from Area 25 to Nankumba Village, Traditional Authority Kabudula.
Powered by a burning desire to shake off poverty, the Mzuzu University (Mzuni) student takes a six-hour walk to meet Azra Lackson, who also has a passion for farming.
By the time Malakichi reaches the agriculture hinterland beyond city lights, profuse perspiration and draining exhaustion is etched on his face, but there is no time to rest. The pair sets off again, trekking another 10km to their onion field, which they prefer calling their hustle.
No sweet without sweat
To them, hard work is a two-way street that gives back as much as you put in.
The punishing routine has become the backbone of their ambition to build wealth through onion farming instead of waiting for scarce jobs.
“You reap what you sow,” says Malakichi, a third-year hospitality student at Mzuni.
As for Lackson, a politics and governance graduate, their joint venture was born out of necessity.
He narrates: “With limited support and bleak job prospects, we turned to social media in search of alternatives. We realised that we could not just sit on our laurels waiting for opportunities. So, we started looking for farming ideas and connected with a farmer who guided us.”
Together, they tried cassava farming, but quickly shifted to onions, which enjoy high demand, better prices and lower input costs.
“Onions are easier to manage with limited resources. They sell fast because people use them daily,” says Lackson.
Pooling income from small businesses, they secured land for their enterprise.
However, their first season was marred by heavy rains that washed away part of their crop, derailing their plans to supply restaurants.
Instead, they sold five bags to individual buyers.
“It didn’t go as planned, but it’s a start. We have learned a lot. Now we want to grow,” says Malakichi.
They plan to expand the onion farm and invest in irrigation to beat erratic rainfall and harvest more.
Irrigation gives farmers firm control on when to water their crops and how much water to channel into the field.
“Our plans are big, but we had to start small. We want to reinvest what we have earned and raise more capital to farm on a larger scale,” he said.
National Planning Commission spokesperson Thom Khanje says youth-led entrepreneurship powers the flagship dream to transform Malawi into an inclusive, self-reliant, industrialised middle-income economy by 2063.
Malawi 2063 blueprint promotes wealth creation through entrepreneurship and increasing agricultural productivity and commercialisation for industrialisation.
“Employment is largely about survival, but business creates wealth. The youth must begin to think beyond waiting for jobs and venture into enterprises that can transform their lives,” says Khanje.
For Malakichi and Lackson, the long walks, failed yields and modest sales are not setbacks, but steps in a journey to challenge the country’s youthful majority not to surrender agriculture—the lucrative business of feeding the nation of 22 million—to the elderly few.
Youth unemployment
To the pair, farming is a full-time job best done by the youth who are young, energetic and innovative.
The country’s youthful population is increasingly taking over farm work once left to the elderly amid the country’s massive unemployment.
Last year, an Afrobarometer opinion poll showed that at least half of Malawians aged 18 to 35 are actively searching for jobs, but remain unemployed.
The findings read: “Starting their own business is the most preferred job option among 61 percent of young people, followed by employment in the public sector [18 percent].
“Slightly over half (51 percent) of the youth report having considered emigration at least “a little bit,” more than twice as many as among senior citizens [24 percent]. Nine in 10 youths who have considered moving abroad are motivated by economic reasons: 56 percent want to find better job opportunities.”
One onion harvest at a time, Malakichi and Lackson are chasing financial independence and jobs for fellow youth.
“Our hearts will not rest until we grow our enterprise, start using machines and employ our fellow young people who struggle with untold hardship due to scarce jobs,” says Lackson.
