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DESIRA INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE SMALLHOLDER FARMING SYSTEMS IN MALAWI

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DESIRA INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE SMALLHOLDER FARMING SYSTEMS IN MALAWI

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Agriculture is the backbone of Malawi's economy, providing employment and food and nutrition security. But smallholder farmers face many challenges including climate change, pest and diseases, droughts, and deforestation. Efforts to support smallholder agriculture are therefore relevant to mitigate the potential effects of those challenges.

Against this background, the Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS) together with the European Union (EU) in Malawi and the eight CGIAR centers[1] in Malawi launched the "Development Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture" (DeSIRA) initiative at a July 22 virtual event. Part of a wider EU project, this five-year agricultural research project targets 10 districts in Malawi and will complement the EU-funded Kulima and Afikepo projects.

Through DeSIRA, DARS, the CGIAR centers and two EU based research institutions[2] will develop and disseminate multi-disciplinary and integrated technologies, appropriate for agri-food systems in Malawi.

The key components of DeSIRA are:

Identification and development of new technologies that can improve smallholder farming systems in Malawi.

Understanding the opportunities and constraints for farmers to apply the new technologies.

Informing policy makers and other partners about the potential of the technologies that are developed under the project.

While farmers in Malawi are in general aware of new yield-improving technologies only few adopt these. Within DeSIRA, IFPRI will examine the gap between awareness and adoption of agricultural technologies by (small) farmers. This will also include work on farm risk modeling as well as investigating farmers' perceptions of the agriculture technologies and practices they are encouraged to use.

Find more details on the DeSIRA project here.

Please stay tuned for regular updates on our research.

[1] International Potato Center (CIP), International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), WorldFish, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

[2] French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and University of Liège

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DeSIRA initiative to improve smallholder farming systems in Malawi

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Agriculture is the backbone of Malawi's economy, providing employment and food and nutrition security. But smallholder farmers face many challenges including climate change, pest and diseases, droughts, and deforestation. Efforts to support smallholder agriculture are therefore relevant to mitigate the potential effects of those challenges.

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A literature review for the DeSIRA project

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A literature review for the DeSIRA project

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Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA)

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Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA)

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The overall objective of the 5-year EU-funded DeSIRA action, led by the International Potato Center (CIP), is to improve climate change adaptation of agricultural and food systems in Malawi through research and uptake of integrated technological innovations.
CIMMYT's role is focused on the following project outputs:

Identify and develop integrated technology options that effectively provide management options to contribute to reducing risks and increasing resilience and productivity of the smallholder farmers' agrifood systems in Malawi. Towards this objective, CIMMYT will evaluate drought-tolerant and nutritious maize varieties under conservation agriculture and conventional practices, and assess the overall productivity gains from agronomic and germplasm improvements versus current farming practices.

Develop, test and promote robust integrated pest and disease management strategies to predict, monitor and control existing and emerging biotic threats to agriculture while minimizing risks to farmers' health and damage to the environment. Towards this objective, CIMMYT will evaluate the effect of striga on maize performance under conservation agriculture and conventional practices; evaluate farmer methods and other alternatives to chemical sprays for the control of fall armyworm; and study the effect of time of planting for controlling fall armyworm.

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Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA)

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The overall objective of the 5-year EU-funded DeSIRA action, led by the International Potato Center (CIP), is to improve climate change adaptation of agricultural and food systems in Malawi through research and uptake of integrated technological innovations. CIMMYT's role is focused on the follow

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Develop climate-resilient, integrated technological innovations and inform policy makers 

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Develop climate-resilient, integrated technological innovations and inform policy makers 

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World Agroforestry | Transforming Lives and Landscapes with Trees

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In Malawi, smallholders face many challenges related to climate change, resulting in low productivity, low income levels, food and nutrition insecurity. Hence, development of climate-resilient and productive farming systems appropriate for smallholder farmers is important.

The Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) initiative is a five-year agricultural research project funded by the European Union that aims to develop climate-resilient, integrated technological innovations to enhance understanding of the opportunities and constraints for uptake of these innovations by farmers and to inform policy makers and partners engaged with expanding scale about the potential of these technologies to contribute to climate resilience and sustainability.

Through the project, technologies for evaluation and promotion include various techniques associated with cereals, legumes, root and tuber crops, agroforestry fertilizer trees, fruit trees and fish. Other prioritized research topics include varietal development, seed systems, agronomy, sustainable natural resource management, soil fertility, pest and disease management, nutrition and post-harvest handling.

DeSIRA is being implemented in ten districts in Malawi: Mzimba, Chitipa, Karonga, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Kasungu, Salima, Mulanje, Thyolo and Chiradzulu.
Overall Objective
To improve climate-change adaptation of agricultural and food systems in Malawi through research and uptake of integrated technological innovations.
Specific Objectives

Identify and develop climate-resilient, integrated technological innovations to address the complex and diverse challenges affecting agricultural and food systems in Malawi.

Enhance understanding of the opportunities and constraints for uptake of integrated technology options by farmers.

Inform policy makers and other partners about the potential for integrated technological options to contribute to climate resilience and sustainability and the enabling environment required for adoption.

Expected Outputs

Integrated technology options are identified and developed.

Robust integrated pest and disease management strategies developed.

Innovative post-harvest management technologies developed.

Integrated technological innovations are designed and evaluated in a participatory way together with stakeholders and end-users.

The gap between awareness and adoption of agricultural technologies in Malawi is analysed, barriers to adoption are understood and conditions for increased technology uptake identified and used to elaborate appropriate solutions for higher uptake.

Impact of technology innovations is evaluated through a participatory process that enables identification of potential impact pathways, synergies and trade-offs between sustainability outcomes, both at farmer and food-system levels.

Information and knowledge generated are packaged for various policy institutions and scaling engaged with expanding scale to inform policy making and expansion processes.

Linking DeSIRA to KULIMA
DeSIRA compliments the KULIMA* project, which is co-funded by the EU and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. ICRAF is contributing to the promotion of farming in Malawi through improved access to, and use of, agricultural research innovations. The first phase of the project commenced in May 2018 and ended in July 2019. The second phase commenced in November 2019 and is expected to end in March 2022. ICRAF has implemented various agroforestry technologies in three residential training centres at Thuchila, Lisasadzi and Mzuzu in Mulanje, Kasungu and Mzimba districts, respectively. ICRAF has also supported farmer field schools and selected individual farmers in Mulanje, Kasungu and Nkhata Bay districts. Overall, ICRAF has trained 210 master trainers, 25 community-based facilitators and 121 farmers in agroforestry interventions. Further, 7000 improved fruit-tree cultivars and fertiliser trees have been distributed to establish study plots and mother blocks.

Within DeSIRA, ICRAF will contribute to the following research-based objectives.

Work Package 1: Integrated soil-fertility management and resilience under grains-legumes-fertilizer trees intercropping

Develop appropriate agronomic practices for management of drought-tolerant maize-beans-legumes-fertilizer trees intercropping across ecological zones.

Developing agronomic practices for management of sorghum-cowpeas-legumes-fertilizer trees intercropping in dryland areas.

Work Package 2: Selection and propagation of superior clones for on-farm cultivation of indigenous fruit trees

Collection of germplasm of two priority indigenous fruit tree species in Malawi.

Evaluating appropriate propagation protocols for each tree species.

Clonal evaluation and selection of best clones of fruits.

Work Package 3: Use of bio-pesticides against destructive field and storage pests

Evaluate effectiveness and application rates of bio-pesticides (Tephrosia and Neem extracts) in the management of fall armyworm.

Evaluate effectiveness and application rates of bio-pesticides (Tephrosia and Neem extracts) against maize weevil.

ICRAF's field research work takes place at selected research stations of the Department of Agricultural Research Services followed by on-farm experiments from the third year of experimentation. The study sites include Chitedze in Lilongwe District, Chitala in Salima District, Makoka in Zomba District, Mbawa in Mzimba District and Bunda College of Agriculture, which is under Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Note
* KULIMA is an abbreviation of 'kutukula ulimi m'Malawi', a phrase in Malawi's main language, Chichewa, which means 'promoting farming in Malawi'. The programme has been designed to strategically contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and aligned to the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II, the overarching medium-term development strategy and the National Agriculture Policy on sustainable agriculture production and productivity.

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Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA)

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In Malawi, smallholders face many challenges related to climate change, resulting in low productivity, low income levels, food and nutrition insecurity. Hence, development of climate-resilient and productive farming systems appropriate for smallholder farmers is important.

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EU delegation visits DeSIRA project field experiments in Malawi

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EU delegation visits DeSIRA project field experiments in Malawi

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The EU-DeSIRA Malawi team comprising Program Manager Marco Vacirca and Finance Manager Chapresto Cortes Maria visited on-farm trials at Mulanje and Salima and on-station at Chitala Research Station from 6 to 9 March. The CGIAR centers showcasing their trials were IITA, CIMMYT, CIP, CIAT, ICRISAT, IFPRI, WorldFish, and ICRAF.

DeSIRA (Climate-smart innovations to improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability of agriculture and food systems in Malawi through multidisciplinary research) is a five-year European Union-funded research project that seeks to address challenges in the smallholder agri-food system in Malawi by developing climate-smart integrated technological options adapted to local conditions and the farmers' realities.
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EU delegation visits DeSIRA project field experiments in Malawi

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The EU-DeSIRA Malawi team comprising Program Manager Marco Vacirca and Finance Manager Chapresto Cortes Maria visited on-farm trials at Mulanje and Salima and on-station at Chitala Research Station from 6 to 9 March. The CGIAR centers showcasing their trials were IITA, CIMMYT, CIP, CIAT, ICRISAT, IFPRI, WorldFish, and ICRAF.

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A five-year Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) project is expected to improve Malawi's productivity, profitability and sustainability of agriculture and food systems.

The project is being launched in a number of countries across the globe.

The project, which the European Union (EU) is financing to the tune of €6.3 million (approximately MK5, 216, 477, 805), also seeks to address the challenges in the smallholder agri-food systems in Malawi by developing climate-smart, integrated technological options adapted to local conditions and the farmers' realities.

It is one of the many initiatives that the EU is financing in Malawi.

Speaking at the virtual launch of the project in Lilongwe on Wednesday, the Director of Agricultural Research Services (DARS), Dr Wilkson Makumba, said although agriculture holds the key to food security, economic growth, employment and overall poverty reduction in Malawi, the sector still faces several production challenges, resulting from adverse climatic conditions such as recurrent droughts and floods, declining soil fertility, desertification, and the outbreak of pests and diseases.

"The sector accounts for 30 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), generates more than 80 per cent of the national export earnings and more than 80 per cent of our population depends on agriculture for food, income and employment.

"Despite the gains made through research and development interventions in the past years, the agriculture sector still faces several production challenges and scientific prediction suggests that these adverse climatic conditions will continue in the coming decades, affecting the food and nutrition security of people, especially smallholder farmers," said Makumba.

He said it is against this background that DeSIRA project was designed to improve the climate change adaptation of agricultural and food systems in Malawi through research and uptake of integrated technological innovations.

He added that the project will expand and build on much existing research for development (R4D) initiatives that are being implemented to respond to complex constraints being faced by smallholder farmers in the country.

According to Makumba, the project objectives are directly aligned with the government's research priorities to address climate change and build sustainable resilience as set-out in Malawi's National Agricultural Policy (NAP, 2016) and National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP).

"In line with the climate change adaptation strategy, the project objectives will focus on the development of climate-resilient integrated technological innovations. This will involve the development of diversified crop and livestock production systems, robust integrated pest and disease management strategies to predict, monitor, and control existing and emerging biotic threats to agriculture; and improve post-harvest management technologies.

"The research will be conducted in a gender-responsive manner and the expected technologies, when adopted by farmers, will lead to more resilient and productive agri-food systems in Malawi," he said.

DeSIRA project is also expected to contribute to the understanding of the opportunities and constraints for the uptake of integrated technology options by farmers through socio-economic analysis of barriers to adoption as well as the available opportunities and conditions required to increase technology uptake.

And as Makumba stated, the information and knowledge generated through these studies will fill critical knowledge gaps and further inform policymakers and scaling partners about the potential of integrated technological options to contribute to climate resilience and sustainability, and the enabling environment required for adoption.

The project activities will involve the establishment of on-station experiments to evaluate various integrated technology options at various research stations and on-farm trials to allow farmers and other stakeholders to participate in the evaluation of the various technologies.

"This approach is expected to foster joint learning and also help partners at the district level to continue to support the farming communities to access and use the most preferred technologies after the end of the project that fit farming systems of smallholder farmers in Malawi. This project is timely as it came at a point when people's employment and livelihoods are threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainable integrated technology interventions that ensure food and nutrition security and income generation in the context of climate change are urgently needed.

"Let me also reiterate that the project is special because it promotes cross-centre collaboration through clustering of scientists from various CG centres, DARS, LUANAR and other institutions to develop climate-smart innovations that are demand-driven and tailored towards the technology needs of smallholder farmers," Makumba said.

He thanked the EU for its generous support to fund the project. He also commended the International Potato Center (CIP) for taking the lead in preparing the project document.

In his remarks, the Programme Manager of the EU Delegation to Malawi, Jean Pierre Busogoro, said the organization is prioritising research in agriculture and food systems to address through science and innovation the challenges caused by climate change was very much aligned to the national policy orientations.

Busogoro observed that Malawi is well known for having built a system where there is a constant and strong collaboration between the national research system hosted by your department and the various CGIAR centres operating in Malawi.

"This good partnership between the national and the international agricultural research system has been facilitating the CGIARs centres based in Malawi to engage in the process of 'CGIAR Country collaboration (formally known as site integration process). This good development has inspired the design of the DeSIRA project for Malawi," he said.

Busogoro stressed that technology development in the National Climate Change Management Policy (NCCMP) is a way to generate innovative approaches for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

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DeSIRA Project to Improve Agriculture Productivity, Profitability in Malawi | Agri Malawi

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A five-year Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) project is expected to improve Malawi's productivity, profitability and sustainability of agriculture and food systems. The project is being launched in a number of countries across the globe. The project, which the European Union (EU) is financing to the tune of €6.3 million (approximately [...]

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Team brings innovation for enhanced agri productivity

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Team brings innovation for enhanced agri productivity

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A research team has discovered 47 integrated technologies that it says has potential to contribute to climate change adaptation and increase farmers' productivity.

During a research seminar held in Lilongwe Tuesday, the team said it believes the technologies would also complement the government's efforts of establishing mega farms to increase productivity.

The research technologies have been discovered under Development- Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (Desira) whose goal is to come up with climate smart innovations to improve productivity in Malawi through multidisciplinary research.

Desira Programme Manager Gbenga Akinwale said Malawi's agriculture sector has vast potential for growth.

"Talking about commercialisation of agriculture, we should also think about the climate change scenario. So, these climate smart integrated technologies will also help the mega farms," Akinwale said.

He said the research-oriented project's aim is to create climate smart integrated technologies research in areas such as crop varieties, climate smart soil fertility management and intercropping to help farmers adapt to climate change.

"One of the focus areas of this project is to develop climate smart integrated portfolios that can help us adapt to climate change in Malawi," Akinwale said.

He said, so far, 17 integrated technologies have been identified in crop varieties, climate smart maize, beans varieties, sweet potato smart intercropping system and technologies alternative to organic fertiliser.

He said the 17 technologies are at a final stage of evaluation and would be released through the agricultural technology committee.

Akinwale added that between September and the first quarter of 2024, at least 30 technologies to be used by farmers in Malawi will be released.

Senior Deputy Director from the Department of Agricultural Services in the Ministry of Agriculture David Kamangira said, if well utilised, the climate change integrated technologies would help the country manage climate shocks.

Kamangira explained that the country is experiencing several climate change effects including droughts and floods that need answers.

"We are also coming up with integrated management technologies which are dealing with pests and disease management so that in any case of outbreak of pests and diseases, we should be able to manage the outbreaks," Kamangira said.

Desira is a five-year project funded by the European Union but is being implemented in coordination with nine different organisations including the International potato Centre, University of Liege and Icrisat.

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Team brings innovation for enhanced agri productivity

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A research team has discovered 47 integrated technologies that it says has potential to contribute to climate change adaptation and increase farmers' productivity. During a research seminar held in...

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47 CLIMATE SMART TECHNOLOGIES AWAIT FARMERS IN MALAWI

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47 CLIMATE SMART TECHNOLOGIES AWAIT FARMERS IN MALAWI

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Oct 11 2023

RECOUNTING/TRACING THE SUCCESS OF DESIRA PROJECT IN MALAWI More than 200,000 hectares of land were negatively affected by cyclone Freddy in Malawi in the 2022/23 season. This catastrophic event has [...]

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47 CLIMATE SMART TECHNOLOGIES AWAIT FARMERS IN MALAWI

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Oct 11 2023 RECOUNTING/TRACING THE SUCCESS OF DESIRA PROJECT IN MALAWI More than 200,000 hectares of land were negatively affected by cyclone Freddy in Malawi in the 2022/23 season. This catastrophic event has [...]

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CIP DESIRA: CLIMATE-SMART INNOVATIONS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY, PROFITABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEMS IN MALAWI THROUGH MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH 

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CIP DESIRA: CLIMATE-SMART INNOVATIONS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY, PROFITABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEMS IN MALAWI THROUGH MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH 

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TECHNICAL PROGRESS REPORT - DECEMBER 2019 TO JUNE 2020

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CIP DeSIRA: Climate-smart innovations to improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability of agriculture and food systems in Malawi through multidisciplinary research Technical progress report - December 2019 to June 2020

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DEVELOPMENT-SMART INNOVATION THROUGH RESEARCH IN AGRICULTURE (DESIRA) PLANNING AND REVIEW MEETING

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DEVELOPMENT-SMART INNOVATION THROUGH RESEARCH IN AGRICULTURE (DESIRA) PLANNING AND REVIEW MEETING

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Development-Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) Planning and Review Meeting

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In Malawi, a constantly changing climate poses a threat to the food, nutrition, and income security of smallholder farmers, taking away their smiles. Such farmers, who rely on agriculture entirely for their livelihoods constitute about 80 percent of the economically active population. Recurrent droughts and floods, declining soil fertility, desertification, and outbreak of pests and diseases are now more rampant.

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DeSIRA Project Manager "need for the country to increase the adoption of climate-smart technologies in the face of climate change impacts" 

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DeSIRA Project Manager "need for the country to increase the adoption of climate-smart technologies in the face of climate change impacts" 

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Malawi, a country heavily reliant on agriculture as the backbone of its economy, finds itself facing the prospect of acute food insecurity.

This is according to the 2023 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), which has shown that Malawi is in phase three in 13 countries that are said to be facing food crises.

The report indicates that one of the contributing factors to Malawi's food insecurity is weather shocks, which have been exacerbated by climate change.

"The country has been plagued by lingering droughts, extensive floods and tropical cyclones, severely impacting crop yields and jeopardising the drive for food security. Achieving the Malawi 2063 pillar, which aims to ensure permanent food security for all citizens, has been hindered by these climate-related challenges" the report reads

The report further indicates that while agriculture remains vital for Malawi's economic development, the country is facing challenges in its quest to improve the sector, citing "unrealistic" agricultural policies among the factors that have fuelled the situation.

The report also shows that only 1 percent of the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) is devoted to research, with subsidies taking precedence over other productive sectors such as extension and research.

Commenting on the report, Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale said his ministry is promoting the use of climate-smart agriculture to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

"We are also encouraging farmers to diversify the type of crops they grow so that people can have a wide variety of foods to eat so that the country can attain food security status. We can achieve that if we apply these as well as other strategies," Kawale said.

He said his ministry is also promoting the use of irrigation to manage the use of water and mitigate the impact of climate change.

Meanwhile, agriculture policy commentators have urged stakeholders to promote the cultivation of climate-resilient crops.

Development Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) Project Manager Gbenga Akinwale said there is a need for the country to increase the adoption of climate-smart technologies in the face of climate change impacts.

"To address the problem of food insecurity, Malawi requires a multi-faceted approach that combines climate-smart technologies, policy improvements and enhanced collaboration among researchers, farmers and policymakers," Akinwale said

He said the DeSIRA project- led by the International Potato Centre (CIP) and jointly implemented by seven Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centres and other agricultural research institutions- has been working to develop climate-smart technologies tailored to local conditions.

Akinwale said the project has introduced multiple innovations, including crop mixtures (agricultural intensification), which are awaiting approval from the Agricultural Technology Clearing Committee.

He said, currently, over 10 international agricultural scientists with expertise in various fields, from economists to agronomists, are working together with local researchers and farmers to find a long lasting solution.

Concurring with Akinwale, Director of Agricultural Research Services Grace Kaudzu said climate change has hit Malawi hard, more so because it has brought with it new pests and diseases,

"There is a need to develop a critical mass of agricultural research scientists with enhanced knowledge if we, as a country, are to pull through," Kaudzu said

Meanwhile, a member of a farmers' association in Kasungu Rabson Katsilizika has asked government and private sector players to be providing certified seeds to local communities and train farmers in new agricultural practices to overcome climate-related crop diseases and challenges.

"There is a knowledge gap between farmers and researchers when it comes to adopting new technologies," Katsilizika said

The report has highlighted that the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity in Central and Southern Africa increased by a staggering 67 percent between 2016 and 2021.

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Malawi in phase 3 of acute food insecurity

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Malawi, a country heavily reliant on agriculture as the backbone of its economy, finds itself facing the prospect of acute food insecurity. This is according to the 2023 Global Report on Food Crise...