Smallholder

Agriculture expert Meena Pokhrel of Nepal Agricultural Cooperative Central Federation Ltd told IANS that in the fields every seed matters with smallholder farmers echo a plea for resilience.

But in an interview on Thursday, gender activist Ackim Bwanali confirmed that two managers from Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) went to Mkanda on a fact-finding mission on Tuesday.

He assured the participants of the federal government’s readiness to support smallholder farmers and bridge the funding gap.

He explained that the capacity building of smallholder sugarcane farmers in community-based seed cane production was crucial to boosting the yield.

He said the training strengthens the capacity to financial literacy and enables small holder farmers to be equipped with basic book keeping, budget and savings skills to assist smallholder farmers and MSME operators.

I hope it will not start with this centre,” said Kasomekera, while describing the centre as a game changer which would drive agricultural transformation among smallholder farmers.

Smallholder farmers across the country have united into associations that pool their resources.

Smallholder farmers cultivating cereals (rice, maize, wheat etc.) cotton, roots and tubers, sugarcane, tree crops, legumes, tomato and livestock are those captured under this initiative.

Smallholder farmers who were affected by Cyclone Freddy in the area of Senior Chief Liwonde in Machinga say they are optimistic they will have a good harvest from the irrigation farming they have been doing.

The country has managed to recover about K187.7 million of the duped funds, according to Richard Chikunkhuzeni, Chief Executive Officer for Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi.

The event was aimed at exploring innovation solutions, investment opportunities, and partnerships to enhance productivity, resilience, and sustainable in African agriculture, focusing on smallholder farmers.

The independent smallholder will be encouraged by this incentive to use sustainable best practices.

To do that, Mkandawire said there is need to pay attention to smallholder farmers on how to incentivise them to improve the status of their soil health.

United States (US)-based agro-product company, the Plant Catalyst, has urged smallholder farmers in Malawi to adopt and use Plant Catalyst.

A move designed to impoverish smallholder farmers and lock them out of farming.

By providing these tools and training, One Acre Fund helps smallholder farmers reduce poverty, increase climate adaptation, and improve their harvests, enabling them to grow their way to prosperity.

IITA's Bernard Vanlauwe spoke about sustainable intensification with the aim of increasing production and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources economist Horace Phiri said much as mega farms are critical to agricultural output, they should just complement and not replace existing smallholder farmers and estate production.

Our findings reveal a worrying trend towards consolidating land for industrial agriculture, potentially displacing millions of smallholder farmers through land-grabbing and jeopardising their livelihoods and food sovereignty.

SAPs undermined the already poor competitiveness of African smallholder agriculture.