By Vincent Gunde
The Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) says it is set to implement Agro-ecology for Community Transformation and Integrated Value Chain Enterprise (ACTIVE) project in the areas of two traditional authorities Msakambewa and Mponela in Dowa district.
The project is targeting 300 old farmers and 650 new farmers for T/A Msakambewa, under GVH Kafanikhale (Nachisaka EPA) and T/A Mponela GVH Mkuziwaduka (Mndolera EPA) for increased food security, cash income and resilience against climate change induced disaster.
Introducing the project to the District executive committee (Dec) in Dowa, CARD’s Project Officer, Chifundo Macheka, said the overall objective of the project is to improve smallholder farmer’s productivity for food, nutrition and income security and hindered by the effects of climate change in Dowa district.
Macheka said the project will promote food and income security through diversified livelihoods such as organic farming, conservation agriculture, small-scale irrigation, fish farming, pig farming, bee keeping farmer organization, Village Savings and Loans and disaster risk management.
She said the project will see to it that smallholder farmers particularly women in the targeted households have increased their food security, cash income and have enhanced their resilience against climate change induced disaster.
The officer said the project will enhance capacity building of lead farmers in soil, water conservation, tree nursery establishment, crop and livestock integration through procuring pigs on pass-on program and training farmers in local seed multiplication.
She said the project will enhance capacity of farmer producers on group organization, business development through procurement of processing equipment for cooperatives and provision of start- up capital to producer groups with K4 million per group.
“The project will see to it that farmers are engaged in small-scale irrigation as business –procurement and provision of solar mobile kits and capacity building and management of solar mobile kits,” said Macheka.
She said the project will train disaster risk management committee in disaster risk management, provision of micro grants for local led participatory actions and increased cross learning and information sharing among key players on agro-ecology farming sector.
Macheka said the project will conduct and hold field days on agro-ecology farming system and seed fairs for local varieties and conducting learning visit for cooperatives to successful cooperatives as well as conducting learning visits to successful areas with high adoption of agro-ecology farming system within Malawi for some selected lead farmers.
CARD will implement Agro-ecology for Community Transformation and Integrated Value Chain Enterprise (ACTIVE) project in Dowa district to Auguspt, 2029 with a total project budget of 377,777 Euros
