Training and educational work are enormously important for agroecology to be truly sustainable and put into practice. Even better is when farmers themselves try their hand at it to find out which agroecology approaches make the most sense on their own land. We are pursuing exactly this understanding in Malawi.
One of the biggest challenges is the climatic conditions there. Time and again, parts of fields are completely washed away during heavy rainfall, and then come periods of drought. Tested methods should help farming communities be more resilient to climate effects and increase the farmers’ independence and self-reliance gradually and sustainably.
Biovision and our partner organization SFHC want to introduce farmers to over 20 agroecological cultivation methods. They are experimenting with these methods on their farms and can identify which ones are best suited to their land – and, most importantly, which ones best suit their needs.
Project name:
Project budget in CHF :
Soils, Food and Healthy Communities (SFHC), Malawi
This project is supported by SDC
Farmers cofounded SFHC. Today, the organization runs a training centre with its own farm. Farmers are even active in the administration and knowledge transfer. Over 600 experienced project participants pass on knowledge through farmer research teams and support others on site through their experiments.
The success of SFHC’s approach is supported by numerous scientific publications. Food security and diversity have increased measurably for the people of the region. In addition, agroecological cultivation reduces dependence on expensive artificial fertilizers so that farmers have more money available for their families.
The project phase ended in late 2024. Nevertheless, the goal remains for hundreds more farmers to benefit from its results in the long term. Our partner organization, SFHC, will continue to work on identifying and establishing the most promising and profitable practices for the respective farms. The ultimate goal remains to communicate sustainable techniques to as many people as possible.
