Post on 30-May-2015
National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi
Sustainable Intensification: A New Paradigm for African Agriculture – Experiences of
Smallholder Farmers
Presentation at a Side Event during FARA Science Week and General Assembly to be held in Accra, Ghana – July 15-20, 2013
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Dyborn Chibonga NASFAM
Chief Executive Officer
National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi
‘If agriculture has a final frontier, it is Africa. After agriculture transformations in Asia and Latin America since the 1960s, Africa remains the one place where
the farming potential has barely been scratched. African agriculture has less irrigation, less fertilizer use, less
soil and seed research, less mechanization, less rural financing, fewer paved farm-to-market roads than any
other farming region in the world.’
Roger Thurow, Wall Street Journal, 27 May 2008
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National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi
Working in Farmer Organized Groups: Strategic Direction for Smallholder Farmers
• Smallholder farmers need urgent support for them to work in organized groups so they can produce enough food for their families and extra for their national economies.
• These may take the form of farmer clubs, associations, and cooperatives, depending on their needs and local realities.
• Such an approach will help them to sustainably integrate in various food and feed value chains.
• A case in point is the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM).
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National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi
• NASFAM has formed farmer clubs to achieve commercially viable economies of scale and the collective power of voice.
• Clubs have integrated to form farmer owned “Associations”, which are better placed to represent the clubs and provide larger-scale marketing and business support to develop smallholder farming as a business.
• The Associations legally registered as NASFAM under the Trustees Incorporation Act in 1998.
• Currently, NASFAM has mobilised 45 Associations in 19 Districts with 108,000 farmer members.
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National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi
• NASFAM believes that “the future belongs to the organised.”
• When working in organised groups, smallholder farmers can effectively participate in sustainably intensified agriculture.
• There is a lot of merit in the collective approach as opposed to individualism.
• Organised farmers form a social network, enjoy economies of scale and speak with one voice to defend their interests in the food and feed value chains.
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Merits of Working in Organised Groups
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Strategic Programme Interventions for Sustainable Intensification
Crop Production and MarketingCrop Production and Marketing Farm Input Access
Capacity Building
Policy and Advocacy
Food & Nutrition Security
HIV/Aids & Gender IntegrationHIV/Aids & Gender Integration
Information and CommunicationInformation and Communication
Rural Infrastructure DevelopmentRural Infrastructure Development
Adult Literacy/Numeracy
Linkages to Service Providers
Conservation Agriculture Conservation Agriculture
Governance Leadership and Democratic Institutions
Monitoring Evaluation & Communication
Value Added Processing
National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of MalawiConclusion
• Agriculture is the main occupation of the majority of Africa’s population.
• Smallholder farmers represent a vast powerhouse that needs to be supported to realize its potential for sustainable intensification
• Organised farmers can be mobilized to address challenges of modern agriculture and treat farming as business in order to take part in agriculture food and feed value chains.
• Africa is the last frontier of the 21st Century in which its vast resources and people can be harnessed to produce enough quantities and quality required to feed a growing world population.
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Thank YouZikomo!
www.nasfam.org
““The future belongs to the organized”The future belongs to the organized”