Farmer-led Research for Food Security and Nutrition in Malawi
Malawi Farmer-to-Farmer Agroecology (MAFFA)
The Malawi Farmer-to-Farmer Agroecology project (or MAFFA) was carried out between 2012 and 2017, as a collaboration between Ekwendeni Hospital (both the SFHC project and Ekwendeni Hospital AIDS Program), Western University, Chancellor College (University of Malawi), the University of Manitoba and Cornell University.
The
project used farmer-to-farmer teaching about agroecology, nutrition and local
food market development to improve food security, nutrition and livelihoods of
over 6000 farm families in Malawi over five years. Food insecure women, men and
youth learned from fellow farmers about ways to sustainably manage their soils,
increase diversity and amount of food and improve young children’s nutrition
through the project. The project took place in two main locations: northern
Malawi in Mzimba District, north of Ekwendeni; and Dedza District, in central
Malawi. The Government of Canada, through the Department of Foreign Affairs,
Trade and Development, and the Canadian Food Grains Bank supported this
project.
MAFFA
had five main objectives:
Objective
1:Agroecological methods to improve food security,
nutrition and soils: Improve food security, nutritional status and
sustainable agricultural practices of 6000 farming households in central and
northern Malawi.
Objective
2: Participatory, farmer-to-farmer model: Test the
potential for a farmer-to-farmer model of education for scaling up use of
agroecological methods in Malawi.
Objective
3: Local orange maize: Determine the potential for local
orange maize varieties as an acceptable socio-economic, cultural and biological
option to improve the vitamin A content of diets in Malawi.
Objective
4: Youth and farmer livelihoods: Extend the agroecological,
participatory approach to youth and farmer livelihoods, by using participatory
training methods in food processing and local food market development to
improve food security, dietary diversity and income for 200 youth and a farmer
association.
Objective
5: Gender Equality: Women from participating households
have greater access to resources and increased decision-making power over
agriculture, food security and income.
Out of a desire to protect our region from this virus, all of SFHC’s field work activities have been closed as of April 7. Although the Malawi government has not yet confirmed any cases of COVID-19 in the… Read More
For twenty years, we have been working here in Northern and Central Malawi. We are very proud of the work we’ve done: a participatory approach to agroecological farming to improve nutrition, livelihoods and equity. And since 2000, we… Read More
After a productive first year of data collection, FARMS4Biodiversity held its annual meeting in February. We are really proud of this year’s work: SFHC has taken the lead in a complex network of interdisciplinary collaboration between five universities,… Read More
Malawi Farmer-to-Farmer Agroecology (MAFFA)
The Malawi Farmer-to-Farmer Agroecology project (or MAFFA) was carried out between 2012 and 2017, as a collaboration between Ekwendeni Hospital (both the SFHC project and Ekwendeni Hospital AIDS Program), Western University, Chancellor College (University of Malawi), the University of Manitoba and Cornell University.
The project used farmer-to-farmer teaching about agroecology, nutrition and local food market development to improve food security, nutrition and livelihoods of over 6000 farm families in Malawi over five years. Food insecure women, men and youth learned from fellow farmers about ways to sustainably manage their soils, increase diversity and amount of food and improve young children’s nutrition through the project. The project took place in two main locations: northern Malawi in Mzimba District, north of Ekwendeni; and Dedza District, in central Malawi. The Government of Canada, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, and the Canadian Food Grains Bank supported this project.
MAFFA had five main objectives:
Objective 1: Agroecological methods to improve food security, nutrition and soils: Improve food security, nutritional status and sustainable agricultural practices of 6000 farming households in central and northern Malawi.
Objective 2: Participatory, farmer-to-farmer model: Test the potential for a farmer-to-farmer model of education for scaling up use of agroecological methods in Malawi.
Objective 3: Local orange maize: Determine the potential for local orange maize varieties as an acceptable socio-economic, cultural and biological option to improve the vitamin A content of diets in Malawi.
Objective 4: Youth and farmer livelihoods: Extend the agroecological, participatory approach to youth and farmer livelihoods, by using participatory training methods in food processing and local food market development to improve food security, dietary diversity and income for 200 youth and a farmer association.
Objective 5: Gender Equality: Women from participating households have greater access to resources and increased decision-making power over agriculture, food security and income.
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Updates & News
COVID-19: Updates on SFHC activities
April 14, 2020
By Rachel Bezner-Kerr
Out of a desire to protect our region from this virus, all of SFHC’s field work activities have been closed as of April 7. Although the Malawi government has not yet confirmed any cases of COVID-19 in the… Read More
Twenty Years of Agroecology: Mapping SFHC’s Impact
April 1, 2020
By Rachel Bezner-Kerr
For twenty years, we have been working here in Northern and Central Malawi. We are very proud of the work we’ve done: a participatory approach to agroecological farming to improve nutrition, livelihoods and equity. And since 2000, we… Read More
FARMS4Biodiversity’s second Annual Meeting yields exciting results!
April 2, 2020
By Rachel Bezner-Kerr
After a productive first year of data collection, FARMS4Biodiversity held its annual meeting in February. We are really proud of this year’s work: SFHC has taken the lead in a complex network of interdisciplinary collaboration between five universities,… Read More