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

Published Jul 15, 2021

Tridge summary

Smallholder rice farmers under the Domasi Irrigation Scheme in Machinga, Malawi are seeking assistance from the government and Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) to identify companies and organizations for contract farming. They believe this could improve their access to resources, increase agricultural productivity, and provide better marketing and access to raw materials. FUM is leading a consortium in a project funded by USAID to increase agricultural production and productivity, improve access to markets and agricultural financing, and improve the policy environment for commercialization and natural resource governance. The project is also providing training and support to improve rice production and seed multiplication.

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Original content

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 ...

Source: All Africa