Malawi: Machinga rice farmers ask the government and Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) to facilitate contract-farming agreements

Smallholder rice farmers under Domasi Irrigation Scheme in Machinga have asked the government and Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) to help them identify companies and organizations with which they can enter into contracts. Speaking in an interview on Monday, the farmers said contract farming could help them increase and improve their access to resources and increase agricultural productivity of farmers. The scheme's chairperson Anderson Chapita disclosed that small-scale rice farmers face a number of production and marketing constraints, such as limited access to services, including effective extension and rural credit, which are crucial pre-conditions for upgrading commodity value chains. "Contract farming could also help us access better markets for our crop and guarantee us adequate supply of raw materials to agro-based industries. Currently, we are selling our yield to the vendors who usually over uncompetitive prices," he said. Meanwhile, FUM is leading a consortium of three ...