By Robert Katuli

Dedza, April 16, Mana: Secretary General for We Effect, a Swedish international development organisation, has said the organisation envisions a strong, independent smallholder farmers’ community in Malawi capable of feeding the whole nation.

Anna Tibblin said this on Monday in Dedza where she and other We Effect delegates toured various interventions the organisation is funding through Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (MUSCCO).

Tibblin said despite the various poverty challenges people in the country are facing, it is encouraging to note that the people are still well organized and are working very hard to improve their situation.

“We want to support such local organisations so that they are strong enough to manage their business without external support. In the long term, we want to leave the stage as We Effect.

“Our aim is not to hang around as the Swedish development organisation, but to support the local organisations so that they can do it themselves with the support of their own members,” said she.

MUSCCO Chief Executive Officer Fumbani Nyangulu said MUSCCO has put in place interventions that are helping smallholder farmers, mostly women, to take part in economic development activities that will improve their livelihoods.

“Our main focus is to empower these people through VSLAs (Village Savings and Loans Associations) where they save and borrow money. At the same time, we also link them to formal financial institutions,” Nyangulu said.

In addition to the VSLAs initiative, MUSCCO is also championing environmental conservation projects that focus on climate change issues, as well as encouraging smallholder farmers to use organic manures in their fields, among other interventions.

Towera Lukiasi, one of the smallholder farmers from Senior Chief Kaphuka’s Chimasula Village, said that through these interventions, the community members are now producing, on their own, organic Mbeya Fertilizer.

“This fertilizer is cost-effective. Previously, the kind of fertilizer we were buying from shops wasn't adequate, as we didn't have enough money to buy that fertilizer enough for our fields.

“With Mbeya Fertilizer, however, we are now able to cultivate large area of land and produce great yields, something we couldn't have done with the inorganic fertilizers we were using before,” Lukiasi explained.

Chairperson for Chimasula Village Development Committee, Stephano McDonald, concurred with Lukiasi, saying the interventions MUSCCO is implementing in the area are benefitting a lot.

“MUSCCO has empowered women here to have land for farming and have access to clean water; farmers now get expert advice on climate change and managing finances; and local libraries have been created for local people to get information on farming, nutrition and other topics,” McDonald lauded the We Effect funded interventions.