MANAonline
NGO moves to equip farmers with new agriculture technologies
By Andrew Mkonda
Lilongwe, April 8, Mana: Tiyeni, a local based Non-Governmental Organization aimed at promoting sustainable farming in the country, has challenged farmers in Lilongwe district to start embracing new agricultural technologies to have bumper yield.
Tiyeni Board Member, Professor Bernard Kamanga, made the call on Monday at Mkoma primary school ground, Traditional Authority Chimutu, in Kalulu Extension Planning Area (EPA), during ‘deep bed’ farming method field day.
“Times have changed because of Climate change and farmers now should start cultivating in a different way. So by bringing in, deep bed farming method, we want farmers to start managing soil and water because deep bed farming harvest rain water and controls erosion,” said Kamanga.
He further said it is interesting and encouraging that many farmers in the district have started using and appreciating the new agricultural technologies in their farms.
“As I am speaking, some of our members are in Zimbabwe where they have been invited to teach farmers there on deep bed farming method. The demand is high, but the challenge has been resources,” he said.
Chief Crops Officer for Agriculture Development Division (ADD) for Ntcheu, Dedza and Lilongwe, Fumbani Kadokela, thanked Tiyeni for the initiative, saying with the erratic rains that the country is currently receiving, there is need to adopt new agricultural technologies in order to have bumper yield.
“We need to accept that climate change is here to stay, but as farmers we just need to find means and ways of adapting to such situations by, among other things, harvesting rainy water through deep bed farming,” he said.
One of the Lead Farmers, Gladwell Kapatuka, said he has been experiencing bumper yield since he started practicing deep bed farming method.
“Let me encourage my fellow farmers to start practicing deep bed farming and they will never regret even if the rains won’t be enough because deep beds keep moisture for some time,” he said.
Tiyeni has been operating in the country for over 15 years and the organization has reached out with this initiative to almost every district in the country.
SCTP participants praise program for enhancing food security
By Chisomo Kambandanga
Nkhata Bay, April 8, Mana: Participants of Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) in Nkhata Bay have commended the programme for enabling them buy agricultural inputs, hence improving food security at household level.
Speaking in an interview Monday, Esnart Banda, a 47-year-old beneficiary from Old Maula Cluster in Jumbo Village in the district, said SCTP has made a significant impact on her life and her family's well-being.
Banda said with the cash transfer from the SCTP, she was able to purchase four bags of fertilizer, giving her hope for a high yield this year.
"Before joining the program in 2022, I was struggling to feed my family of eight. But I can now afford the inputs and my farm is thriving," Banda said.
She added that SCTP enabled her to join a village savings bank, and at the end of the year, she is able to save over K250,000.00 from the K52,000.00 she receives from SCTP.
Another beneficiary, Jessie Kayinjira, 54, from Chikwina cluster in the area of Senior Chief Nyaliwanga, said she's able to grow more crops to feed her family because of the program.
"Before joining the program, I struggled to cultivate enough food to feed my family. However, I can now cultivate cassava and rice, which I use to feed my family the whole year round, and sell the surplus," she said.
Like Banda, Kayinjira is a member of a village savings group and, every month, she saves part of the K43,000 that she receives from SCTP, which gives her a chance to borrow money during the farming season to buy fertilizer and pay farm workers.
Principal Social Welfare Officer responsible for SCTP in Nkhata Bay, Wisdom Mwafulirwa, said it is impressive to see that the cash transfers are enabling communities to access the resources they need to improve agricultural productivity.
"It's wonderful to see the positive impact the program is having on families. We will keep on encouraging the beneficiaries to join the village saving groups, invest in small businesses, and procure assets so that when they graduate, the lifestyle should be sustainable," he said.
The SCTP, which provides financial support to labor-constrained and ultra-poor families, is a component of the Social Support Resilience and Livelihoods Programme, implemented through the National Local Government Finance Committee with financial support from the World Bank and Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
Currently, 6,475 households are benefiting from the program in the Nkhata Bay.
Real estate practitioners, others laud MACRA's National Addressing System
By Evance Chisiano
Blantyre, April 8, Mana: Certified real estate practitioners, property valuers, surveyors, physical planers and the academia have commended the National Addressing System (NAS) being implemented by the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA), with a call for continued engagement to ensure the system improves service delivery.
The practitioners and the other players in land related issues made the comments on Monday during Real estate engagement meeting held at Sunbird Mount Soche in Blantyre under the theme: Revatalising real estate standards with National Addressing System.
Making a presentation titled; Leveraging the National Addressing System to simplify property identification and enhance client engagement, Sam Thunde, a certified estate agent, expressed hope that the system will work to their advantage in the certified real estate agents.
"We are looking forward to seeing MACRA rolling out the National Addressing System: It will work wonders for estate agents,” Thunde said.
He therefore called on property owners and other players in the land industry to embrace the NAS wholeheartedly, saying this will help meeting the system’s objectives, thereby attaining to Malawi’s socio-economic development agenda.
MACRA piloted the NAS in Blantyre at Namiwawa, Chinyonga, Safalao in Ndirande, Makata industrial area, and Mdeka from 2018 after an amendment of Communication Act in 2016, which mandated the communication regulatory authority to implement the system.
Urban and regional planning expert, Blessings Chiepa highlighted benefits of NAS through his presentation titled: Incorporating the National Addressing System for Effective Urban Planning and Infrastructure Development.
He expressed hope that NSA will provide solution to some of the challenges Malawi’s physical planning sector faces; citing increased urbanization and informal settlement, apart from limited access to utilities.
“NAS will help the physical planning sector to make informed decision on matters related to urban physical planning. This will also improve property taxation and revenue collection,” Chiepa added.
Other presenters at the engagement meeting included, veteran property valuer., Rizwan Omar, who said almost every Malawian is connected to issues to do with land whether one is property owner or tenant.
“National Addressing System is real, important and we want to be part of it,” he said in his presentation; Enhancing property evaluation with National Addressing System
MACRA Director of Postal and E-Commerce Development, Kondwani Katchika, said the communication regulatory authority was looking forward to seeing more of engagements with stakeholders for their inputs.
He therefore commended presentations made at the meeting, saying MACRA will consolidate suggestions and recommendations made at the meeting.
According to Katchika, engagement meetings will also be held in other regions to allow more inputs from stakeholders.
Apart from the academia, students in land survey and physical planning from the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences attended the real estate engagement meeting.
GAYO promotes child protection rights in communities
By Winfrida Kamwana
Mchinji, April 7, Mana: Girls Activists Youth Organization (GAYO), says it is a necessity for communities to know and understand the importance of observing policies and legal frameworks in order for them to be able to protect children from different forms of abuse.
This was said during an awareness campaign which the organisation conducted at Chankhanga Primary School in Mchinji, with a purpose of sensitizing the communities on policies and authorities that protect children from abuse.
Programmes coordinator for GAYO, Isobel Jere said it is hard for communities to report cases of abuse to the right authorities when they have little or no information on child protection policies, saying this leads to ineffective intervention thereby placing more children at risk of undergoing the same fate.
“Many children in communities suffer from abuse because guardians and people in the community do not know the right channels to follow in order to get help, so we believe that this awareness will help shade more light on how to go about it if they ever need help,” said Jere.
Jere further explained that not only will people know the right channels to follow but they will also be able to reprimand each other in the community if they notice that something is wrong especially when it comes to their children in the society.
In his remarks, Magistrate In charge for Mchinji Magistrate court, Fred Juma Chilowetsa said people are taking matters into their own hands especially on issues to deal with child abuse and this is hindering the progress of the fight against child abuse in communities.
“Many people in the society do not report issues of abuse to the right authorities saying it is family matters and should be resolved amidst them but this is erroneous because when it comes to Child Care Protection and Justice Act any issue that puts a child’s life in jeopardy needs to be addressed and reprimanded by the law,” said Chilowetsa.
He further said that community leaders need to implement policies and legal frameworks that will help them not only to fight against child abuse but to also make sure that they report these issues to the police so that children are fully protected and get the justice they deserve.
Appreciating the work that GAYO is doing, Senior Chief Chapakama who represented Traditional Authority Kapondo said as leaders in the area, they will make sure that cases of abuse will be handed to proper authorities to handle so that justice is served.
He went on to say that implementing children protection by-laws will help communities overcome child abuse cases and help children grow in health environment.
GAYO is implementing a community engagement sponsorship project funded by World Vision Malawi.
The organisation invited different officials at the awareness campaign to explain on the policies that help protect children which include the social welfare office, gender office, the health sector and the magistrate court.
Bakeries Must Reduce Bread Prices- umba
By Yewo Munthali
Lilongwe, April 7, Mana: Minister of Trade and Industry, Vitumbiko Mumba, has warned bakeries across Malawi to lower bread prices or face closure.
The warning serves to protect consumers from price hikes despite reductions in flour prices by suppliers.
Mumba made these remarks on Monday during a follow up visit to Breadtalk Bakery at Crossroads Complex in Lilongwe.
The visit served to verify if the bakery has implemented the agreed-upon price reduction for bread
“The Ministry of Trade and Industry together with other government departments is making sure that prices for essential goods such as bread and oil do not escalate.
We came here to Breadtalk to confirm whether the prices have decreased as per our agreement, indeed they have from K4100 to K3800, however, we are not satisfied with the reduction as such have given Breadtalk 48 hours to revise the prices further,” Mumba said.
Mumba also visited Capital Foods Limited, a Wheat flour production company, which reduced flour prices from K230,000 to K120,000 per 50kg bag.
He commended their compliance, urging other companies to follow suit.
At Happie Foods, a cooking oil production factory, Mumba expressed satisfaction with the reduced oil price from K150,000 to K100,000 per 20-liter bucket, encouraging other producers and retailers to adopt similar measures.
“We are satisfied that the price has reduced from K150,000 to K100,000 per 20-liter bucket. I am calling upon all cooking oil production companies as well as retailers to reduce their prices and take the example of Happie Foods,” he said.
On his part, Owner of Happie Foods, Happy Nyirenda said the Government’s initiative has enabled him to have access to forex to help his investment.
“I am now selling cooking oil at k100,000 per 20 litre bucket and chances are high that I might decrease the price to K90, 000 as such I am appealing to my fellow Cooking oil producers to further decrease their prices.
“Currently most of these suppliers are selling cooking oil at k120,000 from k 150,000 per 20 litre buckets,” he said.
The government’s move is part of a broader strategy to ensure prices of essential goods do not escalate and affect Malawians.
Former Carlsberg employees requests for dialogue over prolonged court case
By Rennie Tembo
Lilongwe, April 7, Mana: 41 former employees of Carlsberg Malawi, now known as Castel, have submitted their petition to the Lilongwe District Commissioner's Office, requesting dialogue with their former employer to resolve outstanding matters.
Speaking in an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA), on Monday after handing over the petition, Chairperson for the group, Numeri Elisa said the matter has been in courts since 2016, about employees working under the same condition, qualification and all working same hours, but receiving different salaries
He said: “in 2014 Carlsberg introduced a new payment system called Clean wages aimed at simplifying things, which was going well, until January 2015 when the company implemented a 20 percent salary increment for all warehouse employees across three regions. It was this period when we noted salary discrepancies, with some employees receiving K70, 000 while others got K58, 000”.
He further said they have been discussing with the company, but the two parties were unable to come to an agreement, which led to the employees filing a lawsuit against the company at the Iindustrial relations court, in October 2016.
‘’Ever since we filed the case, we have been facing many challenges, especially due to prolonged court proceedings. We have decided to take the matter to the District Commissioner, requesting him to facilitate dialogue with our former employer, so our concerns are address our concerns’’ he said.
Speaking after receiving the petition, the Lilongwe District Commissioner, Dr Lawford Palani commended the former Castel employees, for following the right procedures in presenting their petition.
‘’My duty is to receive the petition and deliver to the relevant authorities, but be assured that your concerns will be addressed, and efforts will be made to find a solution’’ he stated.
The 41 employees have given the DC up to 7 days to convene a roundtable meeting with their former employer Carlsberg Malawi.
TC cautions tobacco farmers against nesting
By Paul Madise
Lilongwe, April 7, Mana: As we are drawing closer to the official opening of this 2025 tobacco selling season, Tobacco Commission (TC) has put in place strict measures to deal with nesting during this season.
The development has been revealed in TC's statement signed by Terephorus Chigwenembe TC Public Relations Officer indicates that nesting face severe punishment with owners of the confiscated tobacco forfeiting all to the commission.
Kanengo Auction Floors is set to open its market season on 9th April 2025 with 11 companies ready to buy the country's tobacco.
According to the Tobacco Industry Act (2024), nesting is the concealment of stems, scraps, loose leaf or any object within a tobacco bale to deceive a buyer on quality or quantity.
"In 2024, more than 3,400 bales were confiscated for nesting," reads the statement. Meanwhile, the commission imposed a penalty of 50% of proceeds from the sale of re-handled nested bales.
It also clarifies that, in the 2025 selling season, all nested tobacco bales will be forfeited to the commission and the owners of the bales will therefore not get any share of proceeds.
Therefore, the Commission has appealed to all tobacco farmers to desist from the malpractice to avoid losses noting that nesting is pushed to preserve the integrity of Malawi tobacco.
Likoma Team Adventure organizes tour to promote tourism
By Ireen Mseteka
Likoma, April 7, Mana: Likoma Team Adventure, on Sunday organized a tour visiting some historical sites in the district in a bid to promote Tourism.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Tour, Director for Likoma Team Adventure, Yusufu Asima said the purpose of the tour which included non-members, was one way of promoting tourism since many people are ignorant of some historical sites.
He said during the tour, the team visited some tourist attraction sites which included, the oldest Anglican Church which is more that 100 years old, Mwala wa belu (a stone which sounds like a bell when hit) and Lodges among others.
“We organized this tour, in order to promote tourism in Likoma. As a district, we have many tourist attraction sites and people out there are not aware of,” said Asima.
One the participants, Kumbukani Salema commended Likoma Team Adventure for the initiative saying that he was overwhelmed to visit the historical sites on the island.
“It was a great experience for the nature lovers and adventure seekers. We enjoyed breathtaking views of the lake, mountains and we also had fun, credit should go to the team for organizing a wonderful tour,” said Salema.
Likoma District Council Tourism Officer, Joice Semu said the tour was vital as it will help upcoming tour guides to be familiar with the tourism sites in the district.
“The tour was very important for upcoming tour guides because apart from getting familiar with tourism sites, the tour will also help to boost their confidence since they now know how they can move with the tourists,” said Semu.
Blantyre and Zomba farmers trained in potato value addition
By Nellie Nyirenda
Mana April 6, Blantyre: In a bid to avoid post-harvest losses, Tehirah Bakeries, in collaboration with the Centre for Resilient Agri-Food Systems (CRAFS) at the University of Malawi, organised a two-day training for Blantyre and Zomba farmers on sweet potato value addition.
Under the theme: Good Agriculture Practices and Post-Harvest Management, the training was held recently at Lunzu Rural Training Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture to empower farmers from the two districts with skills and knowledge to turn the crop into reliable food against hunger and poverty.
Tehirah Bakeries Director, Jean Pankuku said sweet potato was capable to play a pivotal role in addressing food insecurity if grown on larger scale.
“Sweet potato is one of the most climate-resilient crops. With the unpredictable weather pattern we are experiencing, potato offer a sustainable solution to minimising hunger in Malawi.
“Beyond just eating potatoes, we can make bread, biscuits, and flour to reduce our dependence on imports and opening up income opportunities,” she added.
Associate Professor of Food Science at the University of Malawi, Victoria Ndolo challenged farmers to rethink how they treat their harvest.
“Farmers should normalise reserving part of their harvest for household consumption rather than putting everything up for sale. Climate-resilient crops like sweet potatoes are key in mitigating climate change related hunger and improving livelihood,” she said.
The training was combined practical and theoretical aspects such that on the second day, farmers learnt hands-on techniques to improve yield, manage harvests, and transform sweet potatoes into profitable food products.
Each cooperative farmer group was encouraged to brainstorm and decide on a sweet potato-based business they wanted to pursue ranging from baking, flour production to snack making.
Tehirah Bakeries and CRAFS were committed to provide support and follow-ups, to ensure acquired skills and knowledge on potato growing and value adding take root to grow into sustainable enterprises.
A farmer from Matindi in Blantyre, Saidi Banda hailed Tehrah and CRAFS for organising the training, saying skills and knowledge gained was life-changing.
“I gained a lot of new ideas and skills. I learnt how to produce flour, and bake using sweet potatoes.
“I will go back home with a lot of skills and knowledge and will put this into use. This will help farmers start small businesses instead of selling everything after harvesting.” he added
As Malawi continues to grapple with climate change related challenges, alternative initiatives in value addition signal a shift from vulnerability to resilience and from survival to sustainable growth.
With sweet potato at the center, Banda expressed hope that the trained farmers sowed seeds of transformation their fields and sustainable future.
Deputy minister calls for speedy identification of TA Mwamlowe’s replacement
By Manasse Nyirenda
Rumphi, April 6, Mana: Deputy Minister of Local Government, Joyce Chistulo has called for a speedy identification of a replacement of late acting Traditional Authority (TA) Mwamlowe who was laid to rest on Saturday.
She made the remarks during the funeral ceremony of the late traditional leader at his headquarters in Mlowe where she represented the president, Dr Lazarus Chakwera.
She said Mwamlowe was a representative for his people in the local assembly and his demise has created a gap that needs to be filled quickly.
"Traditional chiefs are very critical in championing government's development activities in their respective communities and the death of Mwamlowe has created a gap that needs to be filled.
"We hope the family will quickly identify a replacement to represent them at the local assembly. We also hope the process will be according to laid down succession procedures to avoid wrangles," said Chistulo.
She also echoed calls by Member of Parliament for area, Kamlepo Kalua and the late chief’s family to elevate the Mwamlowe Chieftaincy to Senior Chief because it is one of the oldest chieftaincies in the district.
Senior Chief Katumbi who represented Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe, described late Mwamlowe as a peaceful person who was friendly to everyone.
Family representative, Weston Mhango described the late chief as the pillar to the family who loved his family and community very much.
He added that the community will also miss his passion for sports in particular football and had a social football team which he accompanied to various areas to watch it play.
Born Ian Kachipapa Mwamlowe on 21 June in 1967 he became acting chief in 2014 following the death of his father, but was never officially installed as TA.
He is survived by a wife and two children.
