Please see below, four photographs of our 2022 farming project in Malawi. They show a field of maize at various stages of growth, and the harvested crop in a grain store. This project was at the villages of Yalero and Malemba.
It was a difficult start to our programme because the cost of the farm inputs of seed, fertiliser, and herbicide had risen considerably. This is in line with the worldwide increase in farmers’ costs due to the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. This meant we had to carefully manage our budget, and cut back on some aspects of the work.
On the plus side, the price we were able to sell the crops for was also much higher than in previous years. The groups of young farmers donated 25% of their income from the sale of the crops to Malawi Farmers Aid, which gave us the opportunity to fund another project. The 75% that the farmers retained worked out to be £ 500 each. This is one year’s income for a Malawi subsistence farmer, which is an excellent result for inexperienced young people in their first year’s work.
As with other young farmers we have worked with, some of the participants are planning to expand the land they farm for next year, which will enable them to earn more money, and perhaps employ others on their small farms.
Thanks
Malawi Farmers Aid
