Our work in Malawi

We wish the people of the Republic of Malawi well as they celebrate their Independence Day.

Under ACIAR’s 10-year strategic plan, up to 15% of ACIAR’s total budget for the 2017–18 financial year will be targeted at Africa, and many projects will involve Malawi.

Malawi farmer checks her project plot of pigeon pea and maize

 Our research projects in Malawi aim to intensify maize-legume agriculture and better manage irrigation water.  We are improving income and nutrition in eastern and southern Africa by promoting best practice in producing and marketing vegetables.

Successful and healthy green vegetable plot in Malawi

One group of projects, SIMLESA II (Sustainable intensification of maize-legume cropping systems for food security in eastern and Southern Africa), aims to increase farm-level food security and productivity despite climate risk and change.   Through conservation agriculture, improved germplasm and crop value chains, it improves maize and legume production in Malawi and four other African nations that depend on maize as their staple food.  

 

Maize is a staple crop in Malawi but benefits from added pulse crops

Our virtual irrigation academy is teaching farmers in Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa how to make irrigation farming more profitable and sustainable. ACIAR looks to a world where poverty has been reduced and livelihoods of many improved.  We work closely with researchers from the developing world to build healthier, more equitable and more prosperous societies.  

The chameleon measures water levels in soil

We are also working with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to Cultivate Africa’s Future.  CultiAF is a joint research fund that aims to increase productivity, reduce postharvest losses, and improve food and nutrition security in eastern and southern Africa.  The activities in Malawi include better processing and marketing of fish, and improving management and value chains, to achieve better prices for farmers.

by Nick Fuller 

Find out more 

CSE/2013/008 Sustainable intensification of maize-legume cropping systems for food security in eastern and southern Africa II (SIMLESA II)

LWR/2014/085 Virtual Irrigation Academy to improve Water Productivity in Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa

FSC/2012/111 Improving income and nutrition in eastern and southern Africa by enhancing vegetable-based farming and food systems in peri-urban corridors