Securing a brighter future for Malawian farmers through groundnut seed production

ICRISAT Feature

ICRISAT Malawi, in close partnership with the private sector and country National Programs have been utilising the Seed Revolving Fund (SRF) to ensure that more dryland legume and cereal seeds reach more smallholder farmers to support income generation.

ICRISAT provides smallholder farmers with seeds to multiply and then supervises the production and harvesting process through practical training.

This process enables seeds produced by smallholder farmers to be bought at a premium price on the commercial market, thereby, increasing farm-household incomes.

Demand for the seeds are derived from private companies that produce, package and on-sell the certified seed to larger commercial operations.

In 2015, Ms. Malita Phiri, a member of ICRISAT supported Chiyembe Farmers' Club started producing groundnut seed variety CG7, and after just two years, her fortunes changed.

Speaking from the comfort of her newly constructed iron sheeted roofed house in Mchinji district, central Malawi, Malita recalls the inconveniences that came with living in a grass thatched house, especially during the rainy season.

“Whenever it rained at night, we would have to wake up and start moving food and other household items away from the leaking spots. It was such an inconvenient way of life. But since joining the ICRISAT supported farmer clubs, I have earned enough money to build a good iron-sheet roofed house which is supplied with solar powered electricity” said Malita.

For Malita, the groundnut Seed Revolving Fund has been life changing as it has enabled her to provide sufficient food for her family, a disposable income and a safe comfortable place in which to live. ​

Malita is just one of many smallholder farmers educated in the field of groundnut seed production for ICRISAT’s SRF which leads to a better quality of life through more profitable farming.

 

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About The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a pioneering International Organization committed to developing and improving dryland farming and agri-food systems to address the challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation affecting the 2.1 billion people residing in the drylands of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond.

ICRISAT was established under a Memorandum of Agreement between the Government of India and the CGIAR on the 28 March 1972. In accordance with the Headquarters Agreement, the Government of India has extended the status of a specified “International Organisation” to ICRISAT under section 3 of the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947 of the Republic of India through Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. UI/222(66)/71, dated 28 October 1972, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

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