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Our objective is to improve the productivity of subsistence and smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa,
by providing them with free access to expert, relevant, and practical agricultural advice.
widening access to agricultural education
If you ask a farmer in most parts of Malawi or Tanzania
what would help them most in improving their
agriculture, you are likely to receive a variety of
answers.
Some will say that cash to acquire better seeds is at the root
of all improvements, others that they need better tools, yet
others that they need reliable water sources. But the outside
observer and most of the more discerning farmers will say
that the common denominator is the need for information.
They realise that better seeds without knowing how to plant
them and tender the resulting crop is the recipe for failure
at a grander level. The same with tools- they do not perform a
job if the farmers do not know how to use them. Fertilisers
could also enrich the soil, but if you do not know the best way
and right time to apply them, it does not help.
Providing information to the farmer on time, at the right
place and in the right way has been the aim of all
governments in sub-Saharan Africa since independence,
but the sad reality is that no government can provide for the
needs of all farmers. And there is a perverse logic; the more
marginalised you are because of distance, ability to travel, of
language, the less able are governments to provide that help.
In a recent presentation to a Committee in the House of
Commons in London, a Parliamentarian from Uganda
admitted that with one agricultural adviser for every 30,000
farmers, there would not be much chance for a poor farmer to
be provided with much information. Grassroots Africa aims
to remedy this situation by providing an on-line service that
will support the farmer.
Grassroots Africa at its core is a service by which farmers
can place questions on issues that confront their daily lives in
the fields. They receive relevant, practical, down-to-earth
answers suggested to them by others who have shared the
same challenges and solved them in one way or the other. We
have created an international network of people with relevant
experience. (Most of them are Africans, some are from other
parts of the world.)
By supporting the farmers at the centre of the system or
bottom of the pyramid, we will make them the focus our
work. We aim to help improve over time the capacity of the
farmer to obtain more from their patch of land.
Grassroots Africa is currently working entirely through
intermediaries – people who work with farmers as secretaries
of cooperatives, agricultural extension workers, teachers, staff
of local or foreign voluntary organisations. We are using
anyone who is literate in English, has access to a computer,
and can place questions on behalf of the farmers on the
website. Sometimes the intermediaries have been the
children of the farmers themselves, receiving requests from
their parents and then relaying the answer to them. As time
goes on and the system becomes more sophisticated, the site
will be able to receive messages sent by text or through
mobile telephony and will operate in a range of languages.
If you want to help us - join us....
www.grassrootsafrica.org
www.facebook.com/GRAfrica
MALAWI
A PROFILE OF MALAWI
• GDP per capita in 1960 was $46
• in 2000 was $154
• in 2014 is $226
• 50% of the population of Malawi lives below the official
global poverty level (less than $1.25 per day). This figure
has decreased from 63% since 1998.
• The population has grown rapidly, from 2.8 million in 1950,
to 11.3 million in 2000 to 15.3 million in 2014. Estimated at
19.5 million by 2025 and 30-50 million by 2050.
• Population growth rate is 3.3% - the 6th highest in the
world!
• This is mainly driven by high fertility, despite modest
decreases in the fertility rate due to more family planning.
• 30% Malawi’s land use is arable land. In 2008, there were
0.24 hectares of arable land per person.
• Most Malawians (80%) live in the rural areas and only 20%
in cities.
• Agriculture employs 80% population and accounts for 35%
of GDP.
• 2 million of the total 2.7 million hectares (70%) of
cultivated land are cultivated by smallholder farmers –
mainly women. They tend to cultivate small, fragmented
landholdings, less than 1 hectare per household, making
them less efficient than larger commercial estates.
• Agricultural land is under severe pressure from rapid
population growth, although the government’s
programme of fertilizer subsidies has dramatically
boosted output in recent years, making Malawi a net
agricultural exporter (albeit mainly due to tobacco
exports)
• Female farmers produce 80% of food for subsistence, are
less involved in cash crop production and are still largely
marginalized in commercial agricultural initiatives.
• Climate change is creating erratic rainfall patterns, with
late onset of rains, and prolonged dry spells - putting it in
constant need of thousands of tonnes of food aid every
year.
• Agricultural output could increase by up to 50% if the
appropriate irrigation systems are put in place. However,
as most of the land is not registered, land tenure is
insecure, and farmers feel too insecure to invest in their
land. Land reform is estimated to increase agricultural
incomes by 40% each year. (World Bank, 2013)
• Farmers also need training, known as extension services or
rural advisory services, which will educate them on how to
get the most from their land. Currently, there are up
to 3,000 farmers per extension agent in many parts of
Africa today, even though the annual rates of return on
investment for extension services can reach up to 80%.
• In Malawi, there are 2,175 extension staff, 90% of which
are in the field. The agricultural population is 10,990,000.
Therefore there are 5,000 farmers per extension agent in
Malawi (roughly speaking - based on figures from 20082011).
• Tobacco counts for over 50% of exports; tea, cotton, sugar
and coffee are also important.
• Roughly 7% of agricultural land is leased to foreign
countries, that is roughly 3% of total land area (2010)
(see graph opposite)
LANGUAGES
• Major languages include Chichewa, an official language
spoken by over 57% of the population,
English, Chinyanja (12.8%), Chiyao (10.1%),
and Chitumbuka (9.5%).
• Other native languages are Malawian Lomwe, spoken by
around 250,000 in the southeast of the country; Kokola,
spoken by around 200,000 people also in the
southeast; Lambya, spoken by around 45,000 in the
northwestern tip; Ndali, spoken by around 70,000;
Nyakyusa-Ngonde, spoken by around 300,000 in northern
Malawi; Malawian Sena, spoken by around 270,000 in
southern Malawi; and Tonga, spoken by around 170,000 in
the north.
• Use of technology has more than doubled since 2007.
Mobile Phone usage has leapt from 7% of the population
in 2007 to 15.7% in 2009, it is now at 36% of the population
in 2014. Internet usage has also increased from 1% of the
population in 2007 to 4.7% in 2009. This figure is thought
to be considerably higher now in 2014.
MAJOR ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS
• The growth of Malawi’s agricultural economy is
constrained by:
• Land size limitations
• Low productivity
• Chronic poverty and lack of access to capital/credit for
investment
• High input prices
• Poor market access,
• High marketing costs
• Low technical know-how on aspects of production and
post-harvest management
An integrated holistic approach is needed to:
• Reduce risks and vulnerability from erratic and
unpredictable changes in climate.
• Improve food security, nutrition, and general well-being
of rural communities.
• Assist farm households in making the transition from
subsistence survival to a business oriented mindset that
promotes self-sufficiency and growth.
RADIO LINK
We have established a link with a radio station in NW Tanzania that is going to broadcast a message in Swahili about us to help
spread the message about what we are trying to do in the area. We are also inviting farmers to send questions into the station by
SMS and they will then post them on the website.
WHY WOMEN?
A number of supporters who may not be familiar with the
reality of African agriculture have asked us over and over again
why we are concentrating on women?
Why is Grassroots Africa intending to work primarily with
women farmers and through organisations that work with
women?
•
In most of Africa, the key member of the family is not the
man but the woman. The key fact is that the woman is the
least mobile member of the family. She is the mother and
therefore looks after the little ones. She is also the nurse,
the cook, the carer for the older members of the family.
She is - and this is the key - the FARMER.
•
Men very often move to other parts of their countries in
search of work and sometimes manage to get temporary
work with richer farmers, on estates or in building in the
major centres. Very often they do not return. It is not
unusual in many parts of rural Africa to see villages that
are entirely bereft of able-bodied men. But because
women have do much to do, they are often the least
educated as they have had less access to any form of
education.
• This is why Grassroots Africa has decided to support all
efforts at giving a hand to the poorest and most
marginalised women. It is a hard task, but, if you believe
that the technology that is available can be inclusive,
there is no reason to believe that we cannot achieve it. It
will not be achieved very soon - we are looking at perhaps
5-10 years down the line- but through a series of gradual
steps we should be able to help the weakest members of
the human family.
BENNY DEMBITZER
MANAGING DIRECTOR
OUR TEAM
Benny Dembitzer is a development
economist with over 40 years of
experience. He has worked across
35 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
and in two in Asia with organisations
as varied at OXFAM, War on Want,
CARE international, the International Red Cross British Department
for International Development, the
World Bank and six different UN
Agencies.. He started his academic
life at Cambridge where he studied
under Amartya Sen. He has also
taught at Cambridge, Cranfield,
London Southbank and Greenwich
Universities. He is a visiting Scholar
of the University of Greenwich.
In the early 70s he was one of the
prime movers of the movement
that is now called FAIRTRADE. As
Director of the European Office of
the International Physicians for the
Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)
in 1984-85, he was a member of
the team awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize that year.
He is currently Managing Director of
GRASSROOTS AFRICA, a not-forprofit organisation that is establishing an Africa-wide free agricultural
advisory service for small-holder
farmers.
IN ISSUE 3: WE BRING YOU INFORMATION ON TANZANIA, OUR NEXT PROJECT AND MUCH MORE.
www.grassrootsafrica.org
www.facebook.com/GRAfrica