By Tikondane Vega

Blantyre, June 25, Mana: Private Schools Association of Malawi (PRISAM) has hailed the Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) for speeding up the disbursement of centre fees, ahead of next month’s Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations.

In its Press Release, PRISAM president, Dr. Ernest Kaonga says at long last MANEB has disbursed centre fees.

Last week, PRISAM complained of the delay, claiming that it puts most of the private schools in a fix considering that public schools are provided with mobile labs while private schools rely on the said money.

“We can now confirm that private schools have received this money which will now be used to buy materials for practical subjects,” said Kaonga.

He however urged the private schools to buy all the necessary materials on time since they are not allowed to do so when examinations are in progress.

“This is the right time for them to get organized since they have been paid the money. There is no room for excuse because MANEB has disbursed the funds,” said Kaonga.

In a statement prior to the disbursement, MANEB executive secretary, Dorothy Nampota assured PRISAM that it was working on settling the issue in the soonest time possible.

By Hastings Yobe

Lilongwe, June 25, Mana: Smallholder farmers are the backbone of the country's agriculture sector and Onion farming has emerged as a lucrative opportunity for them to boost their income and improve their livelihoods.

Despite the challenges they face, these farmers have shown remarkable resilience and adaptability, and their success stories are worth sharing.

According to Ministry of Agriculture, small-scale farmers account for over 80 percent of the country's Onion production, which generates approximately K 12 billion in revenue annually.

This Revenue comes from both domestic sales and exports to neighbouring countries like Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique. 

According to research which was done in 2020, Malawi exported over 10,000 metric tonnes of Onions to Zambia alone, earning around K 1.2 billion (US$ 1.6 million) in foreign exchange.

Onion farming offers several benefits to smallholder farmers in the country.

Firstly, it is a low-cost venture that requires minimal inputs, making it an attractive option for farmers with limited resources.

Secondly, Onions are easy to cultivate and require less labour and water compared to other vegetables like tomatoes.

Thirdly, Onions are less susceptible to pests and diseases, reducing the need for pesticides and other chemicals.

Finally, Oions can be stored for longer periods, allowing farmers to sell them when prices are favourable.

A farmer from Lunzu, Blessings Mlelemba, 26 is one of the many success stories in Onion farming.

He expects to earn at least K 4 million from his Onion harvest this year, which he attributes to the simplicity and profitability of onion farming.

“This year I am expecting to get K4 million after selling my onions which I harvested on my half acre land, I think people should now know that farming, especially crops like Onions is really beneficial and can be a real life changer for small holder farmers,” Mlelemba hoped.

“For example, on a half an acre land you can produce 96,000 Onion bulbs and if you are selling 16 Onion bulbs at K1,000 that means you will get K 6 million at the end.

Onion farming is really simple, it takes three weeks to be on nursery and only three months on the main garden. The total production is less than K580,000 which produces the K 6 million we are talking about,” he continued.

A farmer from Zomba, Gavily Maluwa 30, is another beneficiary of Onion farming and uses his skills gained from the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) to maximize his profits, earning up to K 900,000 from his Onion sales.

He said on his one-acre land, a quarter acre produces Onions that produces at least K 400,000 or K500,000 depending on how good the market was that year.

“Sometimes, I may even produce Onion worth K 900,000 but it depends on who is buying the onion, for example if you are selling your Onion in hotels or restaurants that is when you get higher prices,

Besides that, Onion takes longer to rote and can be kept for a longer period of time after harvesting unlike other crops,” Maluwa confirmed.

He added that, “Onion is less costly to grow as compared to the profits one can get after selling it, for example it does not require one to use much pesticides or fertilizers but with just good supervision a farmer can get bumper yields.” 

Maluwa said youths must learn about Onion farming and engage themselves in this enterprise since it was very profitable because it does not require a lot like fertilizer application and was not usually affected by pests.

Although the profits are many with Onion farming, he asked government to assist Onion farmers in accessing cheap Onion seeds.

“Onion seeds are mostly expensive than other seeds on the market and government should assist in training Onion farmers through consultants on how best the farmers can grow their Onion for better produce,” he suggested.

He believes that if government puts more effort in onion farming it can help to deal with forex scarcity in the country. 

“Government should assist farmers to find markets where they can export their produce and get better results,” Maluwa added.

An expert in Horticultural Crop Production at LUANAR Bunda Campus, Dr. Vincent Mwale agrees that Onion farming was advantageous due to its ease of cultivation, low labour and input requirements, and resistance to pests and diseases.

He recommends the Texas Grano and Red Creole varieties, which are well adapted to Malawi's environmental conditions and have a wide market acceptability.

“Onions are advantageous as they are very easy to cultivate and less labour and input intensive than other vegetables like tomatoes for example.

They require less amounts of fertilizers, less water, less labour and are more or less more hardly to get attacks from pests and diseases when grown under optimum conditions,” Mwale clarified.

He said farmers need to think of the environment they want to grow in.

“Onions prefer a cold or low temperature environment and does better in the cool months (April to July), but higher temperatures are required when they begin to form bulbs,” the Expert hinted.

Mwale pointed out that, “Being a bulb, Onion requires sandy soils with high organic matter which can be achieved by incorporating manure. Very heavy clay soils reduce bulb formation process.

“Farmers have to produce high quality seedlings as they determine success rate and they have to choose suitable soil (sandy loam soil as opposed to heavy clay soils) with adequate water facilities if under irrigation.”

According to the Malawi Chitukuko article by Willem, Onions can be grown from seed, but it’s much easier and quicker to grow them from sets (small onions).

Most are heat-treated, meaning they are less likely to bolt (produce flowers), which stops the onions bulking up.

Onion farming offers a promising opportunity for smallholder farmers in the country to improve their livelihoods and contribute to the country's economy.

 With its low-cost requirements, ease of cultivation, and resistance to pests and diseases, onion farming is an attractive option for farmers.

By adopting good agricultural practices and selecting suitable varieties, farmers can optimize their produce and improve their overall farming experience.

As the demand for Onions continues to grow, both locally and internationally, the future of onion farming in the country looks bright.

By George Mponda

Karonga, June 25, Mana: Karonga Diocese through its development desk, Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM) has said they would support 450 farmers from the area of Senior Chief Wasambo in the disctrict with 30 solar water pumps.

CADECOM's Project Coordinator, Matthias Bulukutu revealed this Monday in Chitipa when introducing a two-year roject dubbed 'Climate Just Communities' (CJC) to Karonga District Council stakeholders.

He said that, "The project aims to empower communities to indentify their own priorities to be addressed through climate justice support and build resilience to the impacts of climate change."

"Among other things, we want to encourage sustainable agriculture by supporting irrigation through the establishment of irrigation schemes for livelihood agriculture," Bulukutu added.

District Irrigation Officer for Karonga, George Chanya said the global consequences of climate change have negatively affected the agriculture industry.

"For farmers to feed themselves and even sell their produce while combating climate change, agricultural practices must be precise. Scarce resources such as water, land, and energy will need to be exploited more efficiently in order to produce more with less."

"Providing solar water pumps to farmers will help them boost agricultural production thereby improving food security in the country" he added.

The Project is being funded by Scottish Government's Climate Justice Fund.

By George Mponda

Karonga, June 24, Mana: Disater Risk Management Officer (DRMO) for Karonga District Council, Humphrey Magalasi has said there was need for continued support towards flood survivors who were in decommissioned camps.

He said this Monday in Karonga when Small Producers Development and Transportation (SPRODETA) donated assorted items to over 1,000 flood survivors from Group Village Head Zindi in the area of Paramount Chief Kyungu.

"Although the flood survivor’s camps were decomissioned two months ago, a lot of households still need support because some lost their houses and property hence stakeholders still need to come in with assistance for them to get their lives back on track," Magalasi pointed out.

According to the DRMO, over 3,000 households were affected by floods in Karonga this year.

SPRODETA's Finance Officer, Mary Gondwe said their organisation donated the assorted items to the flood survivors as one way of helping them recover from the disaster which befell them.

"We are giving them assorted food items which include: 20 kgs maize, 2 kgs beans, 3 kgs rice and 1kg salt each to 800 households. Lactating and pregnant women will also receive SPRODETA branded wrappers," she said.

Gondwe explained that, "Most of them had their food and houses washed away so we thought it wise to help them out. We considered lactating and expectant mothers with wrappers for them to use when taking care of their babies."

One of the beneficiaries from Kayuni Village in the area of Paramount Chief Kyungu, Hastings Simfukwe hailed SPRODETA for coming to their aid.

"This contribution is a significant step towards helping us cope with the impacts of floods and it will help to restore normal life for those of us affected by floods," he said.

By Tione Andsen

Dowa, June 24, Mana: Ministry of Transport and Public Works has the implementation of the six year Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project (SATCP) would help to reduce trade barriers within the Nacala corridor.

Deputy Director for Policy and Planning in the Ministry, Charles Mtonga made the remarks Monday during the opening of a two-day Media Orientation and Tour for SACTP at Vintage Hotel in Mponela, Dowa.

He said the project was designed to open up trade and remove obstacles and barriers between the country and international markets particularly using the Nacala and Beira corridors.

“We noticed that we have a number of barriers ranging from physical and infrastructure barriers, condition of roads and railway and ports, need to be handled effectively,” Mtonga said.

The Deputy Director added that the project mainly tackles non–tariff barriers in form of procedures, strategies countries use to facilitate trade by focusing to making sure that trade was less costly and travel on the corridor was faster.

“As we opened up the corridor will make it better and bigger and chances are that there will be increase in the flow of traffic within the region. We need to look at export on the production side as much as we are looking at making the corridor better,” Mtonga viewed.

He disclosed that the project has a sub component which looks at production through Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs) for a start that’s what World Bank would support and government.

The Deputy Director said value chains that Ministry of Trade and Industry need to promote and identify could be enhanced along the corridor.

“The corridor wants to provide grants to identified producers, SMEs to work in order to increase production and these identified value chains in order to expand our export base. The project is keen to promote value chains in agriculture sector,” Mtonga pointed out.

He said SACTP focuses mainly on Nacala corridor using railway and roads with complementary usage of Beira port with some activities that may touch on the operations of Beira corridor.

Project Manager for SATCP, Hestings Ngoma said the project is funded by World bank to the tune of US$ 150 million and it is a multinational project whereby two countries of Malawi and Mozambique are implementing it.

He said the project is for six years running from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2027 and has four main components which are sub-divided into two categories of infrastructure and non-infrastructure.

“This aims at reducing trade costs, improve regional coordination and project implementation and strengthen vale chains for regional integration and strengthen transport infrastructure to improve market access,” Ngoma elaborated.      

Some of Media Houses that are participating includes, Malawi News Agency (MANA), Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), Zodiak Broadcastings Services (ZBC), Nation, Times Group, Malawi Institute of Journalism (MIJ), Mibawa and Nyasatimes.