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| EU project transforms lives in Thyolo |
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by
Moses Michael-Phiri, 02 March 2007
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09:43:18
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The European Union’s (EU) Farm Income Diversification Programme (FIDP) is transforming lives of smallscale farmers in Thyolo through new agri-business initiatives, the farmers said on Wednesday.
Speaking during a conservation farming field day conducted by the FIDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security through the Department of Land Resource Conservation, farmers from Mbeluwa Village expressed happiness at the way the programme transformed them from local farmers to agri-business farmers.
“These days farming is a business. EU through FIDP has been funding us since last year to do farming as a business. This year I am expecting to harvest over 40 bags of maize because I used conservation farming methods which are less costly and one does not use a hoe,” said Chrissie Kanyama, one of the local farmers.
Kanyama said last year she harvested 20 bags of 50 kilogrammes each.
She said the programme has financed the farmers with farm inputs such as fertilizer, chemicals and technical assistance to boost conservation farming in the area.
FIDP project coordinator for Thyolo George Botha said the project is benefitting households in 83 villages since it started last year.
“The farmers are required to form farm clubs to benefit from the programme because it is easier to work in groups. FIDP’s main focus is to increase food security and income levels of rural households while ensuring sustainable use of soil and water resources by encouraging agri-business development and improved marketing of agricultural products in selected communities,” said he said.
Sanderson Juwawo, land resource conservation officer from the Blantyre Agriculture Development Division, said the new agri-business initiative has proved instrumental in improving the livelihood of smallscale farmers.
“This programme helps the farmer in the village to reduce the cost on his farm inputs as he only uses chemicals and fertiliser as major inputs. Labour cost is not high as the chemicals are used to kill weeds in the garden,” he said.
Thyolo is one of the 11 districts where this programme is being implemented. Four Extension Planning Areas (EPAs)—Matapwata, Dwale, Thyolo Centre and Khonjeni have been earmarked for implementation of FIDP activities.
The programme is expected to run for five years.
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