Farmer-led Research for Food Security and Nutrition in Malawi
Carasso Project
Building Sustainable and Equitable Food Systems using Participatory Communication and Agroecology in Malawi
Continuing to build on research and community development efforts started during the MAFFA project, SFHC has partnered with Cornell University and the University of Western Ontario in a 3.5 year project funded primarily by the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation. The project aims to increase understanding of how agroecological, participatory methods foster sustainable production, equity and dietary diversity in rural households in Malawi.
The project uses participatory methods to pursue the following research objectives:
Topic 1 – Examine how increased agrobiodiversity affects dietary diversity and food consumption patterns
Topic 2 – Evaluate the impacts of participatory communication methods on production methods, diets and livelihoods.
Topic 3 – Identify key social factors that enhance or prevent use of sustainable diets and production methods.
 Topic 4 – Explore the potential of farmer cooperatives that use agroecological methods and promote social equity to build diverse local economies.
Sample area:
A total of 475 farmers have been selected based on food insecurity, interest in agroecology, and access to sufficient land and have agreed to participate from 10 farming villages of Dedza and Mzimba Districts (4 implementation and 1 control village from each site).
Project activities:
Seed Distribution was done in both sites in October 2016
Dedza area :
Ground nuts : 120 farmers each received 3kg (360kg total distributed)
Soya beans : 89 farmers each received 5kg (445kg total distributed)
Pigeon pea : 209 farmers (all who received ground nuts or soya bean) each received 1kg (209kg total distributed)
Common beans – all 237 farmers each received 3kg of beans (711kg total distributed)
Mzimba area :
Ground nuts : 123 farmers each received 3kg (366 kg total distributed)
Soya beans : 115 farmers each received 5kg (575kg total distributed)
Pigeon pea : 238 farmers (all who received ground nuts or soya bean) each received 1 kg (238kg total distributed)
Common beans : 228 farmers each received 3kg (684kg total distributed)
Training
Training was done for all participants in both sites on planting patters (e.g. intercropping) in October 2016
Baseline Survey was completed in both sites in February/March 2016
Planned activities :
Qualitative interviews and focus groups in each site – April/May 2017
Training using participatory communication methods – April/May 2017 (during same time as qualitative interviews and focus groups, sites will alternate activities)
Seed repayment : will happen in both sites as crops are harvested, starting in April 2017, with common beans, and ending in August 2017, with pigeon peas
Yield assessment data collection will be done between April and August 2017, before crops are harvested
Lizzie Shumba joined SFHC in 2003 and since then has contributed much to our efforts and to the success of SFHC. The Agroecology and Livelihood Collaborative (ALC) from the University of Vermont conducted an interview with Lizzie to… Read More
The SFHC team and the communities we work with play a crucial role in helping us reach our goals of promoting sustainability, health, and equity, so we love to share the voices of the wonderful people that make… Read More
Exciting news: new research from our SFHC team has just been published! This research is centered around examining crop diversity and its effect on food security and women’s diet quality through an intervention in Malawi. As always, we… Read More
We are proud to share new research from our team within the last year! Both works come from our FARMS for Biodiversity Project, and they include a research approach to transdisciplinary agroecology and an assessment of local views… Read More
Carasso Project
Building Sustainable and Equitable Food Systems using Participatory Communication and Agroecology in Malawi
The project uses participatory methods to pursue the following research objectives:
Sample area:
A total of 475 farmers have been selected based on food insecurity, interest in agroecology, and access to sufficient land and have agreed to participate from 10 farming villages of Dedza and Mzimba Districts (4 implementation and 1 control village from each site).
Project activities:
Seed Distribution was done in both sites in October 2016
Dedza area :
Mzimba area :
Training
Baseline Survey was completed in both sites in February/March 2016
Planned activities :
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Updates & News
An interview with SFHC’s Lizzie Shumba!
October 20, 2022
By Nicole Velecela
Lizzie Shumba joined SFHC in 2003 and since then has contributed much to our efforts and to the success of SFHC. The Agroecology and Livelihood Collaborative (ALC) from the University of Vermont conducted an interview with Lizzie to… Read More
Take a look into SFHC’s work!
October 20, 2022
By Nicole Velecela
The SFHC team and the communities we work with play a crucial role in helping us reach our goals of promoting sustainability, health, and equity, so we love to share the voices of the wonderful people that make… Read More
New Research Paper: Sept. 2022
September 28, 2022
By Nicole Velecela
Exciting news: new research from our SFHC team has just been published! This research is centered around examining crop diversity and its effect on food security and women’s diet quality through an intervention in Malawi. As always, we… Read More
2 New Research Papers: 2022
September 23, 2022
By Nicole Velecela
We are proud to share new research from our team within the last year! Both works come from our FARMS for Biodiversity Project, and they include a research approach to transdisciplinary agroecology and an assessment of local views… Read More