Victoria Mkandawire and Changing Lives Through Sustainable Agriculture

Victoria Mkandawire lives with her two children in Joto Village, Northern Malawi. To support her family, she used to sell Kachaso and tobacco, but then became sick and unfortunately lost her husband. After this, she decided to focus on the banana business, as it would provide bigger profits. However, she struggles with the transportation of bananas to Mzuzu and the high prices of fertilizer and seeds. These issues have forced Victoria to sell her goats and give up on the cultivation of maize, increasing her risk of food insecurity over the long term. 

This is not an uncommon story. In the Nkhata Bay North where Temwa works, 90% of families are subsistence farmers and 58% of people live below the national poverty line. The families here depend on being able to grow food but are facing hardships due to the effects of climate change. Erratic rainfall, drought, flooding, strong winds and crop pests are affecting food production and exacerbating high vulnerability and poverty. These challenges have been worsened further by local deforestation, which erodes the soil, dries up water sources, and lowers agricultural productivity. 

In the past, Joto Village has worked with Temwa on winter cropping and tree planting to combat these challenges. Temwa has now introduced Farmer Field Schools to the village, and Victoria has big hopes for the future. She wants to learn more about manure-making and farming techniques. With Temwa’s training, Victoria is expecting to expand her field from 1 acre to 2 acres, so that she can grow enough for food and selling. Victoria believes that once she is equipped with these skills, things will change, for her family and wider community.

“We are welcoming Temwa to this community to train us on different agriculture practices…learning never stops, you learn something new every day.”

This is a group-based learning process where farmers like Victoria engage in experiential learning, experimenting and problem-solving in their own fields. The project involves a series of participatory learning sessions, led by trained facilitators that cover a range of topics related to crop production, pest management, soil conservation, and other aspects of sustainable agriculture. 

Over time, this will help embed climate-smart agriculture and food production practices and improve capacity and skills across the communities in villages like Joto – increasing agricultural productivity and climate resilience, while enhancing capacity to manage natural resources.

“We could produce so much that people’s lives change.”

Read more about Farming Futures in our latest report here.

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