Temwa Malawi makes farming viable option for survival in Nkhata Bay

Malawi: Temwa Malawi, a Nkhata Bay North organisation that has been in operation since 2003, is doing an excellent job of assisting its communities in making farming a viable option for survival.

The majority of villages in Nkhata Bay North rely on agriculture for food, such as cassava, maize, and bananas.

However, harvests have been very low in recent years due to a lack of sufficient farming inputs.

These communities requested Temwa Malawi's assistance with the livestock pass on the programme in order to gain access to manure and increase their food production through either winter cropping or harvesting. Pig farming was chosen by the communities due to its high multiplicity.

Temwa Malawi piloted the livestock pass-on project in 2018, beginning with four villages.

Miss Sera Mtambo, communications officer for the Temwa Malawi organisation, told AfricaBrief that they built breeding centres and gave 5 pigs to each one.

“According to Temwa Malawi's approach (community demand-driven, the people who join the group are chosen by the community, and the group then cares for the pigs together. When the pigs multiply, each member receives one piglet until all members have at least three pigs, at which point they leave the group to allow other people to benefit,” she explained.

In a phone interview with AfricaBrief, one of the beneficiaries, Hodges Mhone,74, the chairperson for Tioniyepo group, which has 12 members, said they were overjoyed after being heard by the Temwa organisation to assist them with the piglets that provide them with manure.

"To us, it's like an achievement, and we thank them so much," he said.

"They gave us 5 piglets on credit, and we agreed to give them back after they matured, and each member has also gotten his or hers."

We are currently growing various types of things such as tomatoes, bananas, and vegetables using pig manure, and we also make sure that as a group we take care of the area where we keep our pigs, he added.

The main goal of the Temwa organisation is to provide access to manure to most households that cannot afford farm inputs, especially given the current price of fertiliser.

Similarly, the organisation is currently planning to train farmers in mbeya production (a combination of animal dung, green plants, soil, and a small amount of fertiliser) because there has been an increase in demand for organic manure due to the current fertiliser prices.

The training will begin before the end of next week.