Investing in small holder

agriculture in Malawi to

improve performance by

scaling up conservation

agriculture

Prof., Sosten Chiotha*, Dr Dalitso

Kafumbata, Dr Daniel Jamu,

Mathews Tsirizeni, & Welton

Phalira

*Leadership for Environment and Development

(LEAD), Zomba, Malawi

Landscape mosaic in Malawi

Landscape mosaic, gradually more

fragmented(last 100 yrs),

Agriculture, human settlements,

main cause of fragmentation

1991-1973 forest cover decline: 45 to

25.3 % and continues

High population growth, the main

driver of landscape change

Population trebled to13 million (1966

to 2008), projected growth rate is 2.9%

Declining natural resource

base

84 % employment natural resource based:

agriculture, forestry, fishery are key sectors

All 3 sectors declining in productivity due

to unsustainable practices

More than 40% smallholders own <0.5ha,

average farm size is 0.28ha

Farming system is essentially low input and

low output

Fallow, crop rotation, mixed cropping,

integrated with livestock production are

limited or non – existent

Investing in conservation

agriculture a must!!!

Climate change has made the situation

worse : erratic rainfall, prolonged dry

spells and other extreme weather

events

Severely degraded landscapes with

diminishing ES leave many rural

communities in persistent food

shortages and poverty

Investing in conservation

agriculture a must!!!

CA is one approach to address the

challenges to achieve sustainable production

and improve livelihoods

Uptake of CA is low to achieve scale of

restoring ecosystem services

Investment through the small-holder

households, likely to break the vicious cycle

of environmental degradation, low

agricultural production and poverty

Arable land per capita decline vs

Cereal demand/supply

Land cover decline over 20 years

An example of a plot under

conservation agriculture

Need for investment into off-farm activities

to shift unsustainable use of marginal and

fragile ecosystems

Estates in southern Malawi showing

intensity of production, hedgerows and

forest reserve as required by law for

estates. Also notice land under fallow

The small holder tea farmers belong to an

association and hence there is potential for

investment in addressing small holder land use

challenges to achieve scale at landscape

Contrasting land uses by small holder

farmers and estates in southern Malawi

Land use by small holder farmers. Notice the small

landholdings, the variation in crop density/quality,

location of trees, human settlements

Rethinking investmentGovernment: move from input-subsidies to more

integrated incentives that support landscape

sustainability(e.g. PES, sustainable rural economic

growth)

Private sector: support value addition, viable

cooperatives of small-holders,

Banks & lenders: providing small-holders with better

access to financial services (savings, credit, etc.)

Donors/development partners: more flexibility in

approach to address difficult trade offs small holder

farmers make that compromise landscape quality

of services( essential for long-term livelihoods)

AcknowlegdementsWLE: Support to attend GLF

Lake Chilwa Basin Climate Change Adaptation

programme: supported by the Royal Norwegian

Embassy in Malawi.

ASSETS: supported by ESPA UK through DFID

Participatory GIS in Malawi. Donors/development

partners: Funded by IDRC

Population and climate change: Funded by

Population Action International

Malawi state of Environment and outlook report

For more information

Related Publications:

Linkages between population, reproductive

health, gender and climate change

adoption in Malawi

Lake Chilwa Basin Climate Change

Adaptation Programme

Contact:

Sosten Chiota: schiotha(at)yahoo.com