Malawi

Program Highlights

Improved Yields

We work with the Seed Service Unit to improve the local supply of quality seeds by working with farmer cooperatives on seed multiplication. Over 20 metric tons of soybean seeds are grown by farmers annually.

We engage farming communities to decrease their vulnerability to climate change by implementing forestry and agroforestry land use systems. More than 2,000 farmers in Malawi have planted trees to reverse deforestation and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change.

Our team has also partnered farming communities in Malawi with the Export Trading Group (ETG), which aims to source more organic produce and enhance the traceability of their supply chains. Farmers are introduced to an organic multi-crop rotation with sesame and soybean, accompanied by agroforestry systems with cashew and mango trees. Over 2 million trees are expected to be planted in a windbreak around farmers’ fields to cater for buffer zones between organic and non-organic fields. ETG will pay farmers to generate carbon credits from afforestation through measurement and verification of carbon sequestration, providing a source of income for farmers.

A partnership CAP has established with Neno Macadamia Trust, has allowed farmers to grow over 3,300 Macadamia Trees covering 82.5 acres of land. Neno Macadamia Trust produces early maturing Macadamia seedlings, allowing farmers to diversify their incomes through sales of Macadamia nuts.

We have partnered farmer cooperatives with companies like SEEDCO Malawi, producing improved seed varieties that are vibrant, drought tolerant and resistant to pest and diseases. This has helped farming communities to consistently deliver massive quantities of quality products. On average, farmers we support have increased their production by 50%.

Market Integration

We work with farmer cooperatives to secure competitive prices for their crops, rather than selling to opportunistic buyers that may pay below the floor price. Direct access to smallholder groups is attractive to processors, ensuring a reliable and predictable volume of input. Such arrangements have seen farmers in Malawi delivering over 3,000 metric tons of soybeans to Africa Improved Foods in Rwanda.

By directly linking farmers to markets where their commodities are in high demand and fetch a higher price due to their quality, CAP is increasing farmer incomes and local economic opportunities, creating over $2 million in revenue for farming communities in Malawi.

Financial Inclusion

From the 2017/2018 season to the 2020/2021 season, our team provided input loans valuing more than $327,000 to farming communities in Malawi which helped to establish credit records that allowed them to access formal financing. This has enabled 23 farmer cooperatives to access $420,000 in agricultural loans supporting both production and early grain purchases by the cooperatives from Standard Bank of Malawi.

Building Strong Farmer Organizations

CAP works to establish well-organized farmer groups. As the farmer groups grow, our team facilitates the formation of cooperatives so that farmers are operating in legal entities, having the ability to engage independently with business partners. Over 45 farmer cooperatives and 3,000 business groups are working with CAP .

Our team partnered with Opportunity International Malawi (OIM) and the Ministry of Trade to get farmer groups legally trained and registered as cooperatives. The training has enabled more than 30 groups to become certified and run their operations as businesses. Our partnership with OIM continues to support the groups with different trainings that contribute to the growth of the cooperatives.

OUR IMPACT

45 coops

in partnership with CAP representing more than 11,000 individual farmers engaged in diverse agribusinesses