Norwegian Government commits K18.9 billion for Climate-Smart Agriculture

MALAWI: The Government of Norway on Monday 13 December 2021 signed three and a half years funding agreement with the Norwegian Church Aid to the tune of K18.9 billion to boost sustainable agricultural transformation in Malawi through the TRANSFORM Programme.

The signing ceremony took place at Mndolera EPA in Traditional Authority Dzoole in Dowa District.

The Head of Cooperation in the Norwegian Embassy, Ørnulf Strøm, signed the agreement on behalf of the Norwegian Government, while Håvard Hovdhaugen, signed the agreement on behalf of Norwegian Church Aid.

Hovdhaugen heads the NCA/DCA joint country programme in Malawi.

The TRANSFORM programme will be coordinated by a consortium comprising the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Development Fund of Norway (DF), and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and implemented by several local partners in selected Extension Planning Areas (EPAs) in Rumphi, Mzimba, Kasungu, Dowa, and Mchinji.

TRANSFORM aims to improve food and nutrition security, resilience to climate change, and increase income among smallholder farmers in Malawi targeting 150,000 agriculture-dependent rural households within the selected EPAs.

The programme introduces new and simple technology as well as good agricultural practices.

During the event, Strøm urged local partners and consortium members to effectively utilize the funding opportunity to address the problem of climate change while improving food systems and income.

He said, “Too little or too much rains negatively affect smallholder farmers. This includes challenges to access markets. These challenges can be overcome through the adoption of drip irrigation and crop diversification. Farmers should also organize themselves into groups to access better markets.”

Strøm also assured Malawians that Norway is committed to continuing to support Malawi on agriculture and food security.

In his remarks during the ceremony, Håvard Hovdhaugen, Country Director for Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and DanChurchAid (DCA), said he is indebted to the Norwegian Government for the funding that will greatly impact many lives through increased food production and income.

“Our aim through this programme is to introduce better agriculture practices - simple and effective technologies that will increase production for smallholder farmers. Increased production means increased food security and means increased income. It means increased income if there are available markets where farmers can sell their produce. That’s the key component in the programme,” he said.

Hovdhaugen added that the consortium will work with the private sector to identify viable markets and he urged farmers to aim at achieving both quantity and quality to sustain the market better.

During the event, the delegation visited a farming site where one successful smallholder farming family Davison Pendeka of Sauzande Village works, expressed gratitude for introducing him to micro-investment in the form of drip irrigation kits a simple and affordable technology that is yielding multiple harvests a year.

He said he now sustains his family with nutritious foods and a reasonable income.