Climate Smart Agriculture for Smart Farmers

By Monica Mandala Matumbi

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has suddenly become the household name in Phanga Village in Lilongwe District as small-scale farmers are yielding results as their lives have changed for the better.

Thomas Chimbalame is one of the farmers whose life has improved tremendously since he started practising Climate Smart Agriculture.

“I graduated from Phanga Farmer Field School in CSA and since then, my life has changed tremendously.  For a long time, our village has been affected by the adverse effects of climate change.  We didn’t know what to do as we were in a terrible state, which forced us to beg for food year in year out, and after we were encouraged to join the Farmer Field School where we learned a lot and now have overcome climate change effects,” Chimbalame said.

The Farmer Field School in the area started in 2016 after farmers suffered the effects of climate change. According to Chimbalame, climate change affected their yields as drought hit the area and it was at the time that the farmers approached an Extension Officer to assist them to start a field school where they started learning how to cushion the effects of climate change.

He said during the classes, they learnt how to adopt new farming technologies, including CSA. They have been using their individual fields practising climate-smart agriculture. Some of the practices the small-scale farmers managed to achieve during the Farmer Field School are practising conservation agriculture, agroforestry, using of manure and zero tillage. This has led to tremendous change in the livelihood of farmers and has led to improved yields.

One of the farmers who is a scholar on the field school, Emily Kadzamira, explains that after graduating from the Field School she has managed to migrate from glass thatched house to corrugated iron sheets and cemented floors. She explained that not only has the practice helped them to have improved housing but everyone who participated in the school has managed to buy goats and pigs after realizing bumper yields through practising Climate Smart Agriculture.

“Due to practising of climate-smart agriculture we have been yielding bumper harvests which have helped the individuals to buy goats and some managed to buy both goats and pigs which we sale and are helping us to have proper income at the household level and buy whatever we want. We also have healthy families because we eat nutritious food, meat and drinking milk from the goats which were not possible previously. We made it a point that none in our class shall no longer live in a grass thatched house,” Kadzamira said.

Random interviews in the village proved that the soil in their fields is now regaining its texture because of zero tillage practice which is preventing soil erosion during heavy rains. The farmers also said that their health has improved since they do not overwork since they started practising conservation agriculture because it is less labour-intensive.

The farmers of Phanga Field School also practice agroforestry which has led to more trees in people’s backyards.

The author works for the Ministry of Agriculture as a Radio Extension Officer in Lilongwe, Malawi.