Introduction
As the first rays of the sun streak through the misty morning in early June, James Singano spits into his right hand for a good grip on the hoe handle. With one swing, he brings down a shrub. Malawi’s farming season is five months away, but Singano has started clearing the land where he inter-crops maize, a staple food, with pigeon peas.
He is one of the more than 4 million smallholder farmers that depend on subsistence farming and contribute significantly to national food security by producing 80% of Malawi’s annual maize harvest. Most of them farm on less than a hectare.
Agriculture in Malawi
On his farm on the outskirts of Blantyre City in Southern Malawi, Singano’s maize harvest varies between 400kg and 600kg annually, which hardly feeds his family of six for a year. He says the land’s yield has consistently decreased over the last 21 years, since he inherited it from his parents.
“They (parents) did not need fertilizer to produce enough maize for our family”, he says, sweeping off the shrub he has cut with his bare foot onto a heap of grass nearby. “These days, farming is a lot of toil for very little harvest because the soil isn’t producing as much and fertilizer is getting harder to afford”.
Dependence on Chemical Fertilizers
Maize is a staple crop in Malawi and its production is heavily dependent on chemical fertilizers. Malawi imports over 90% of the over 400,000 tons of fertilizers it consumes annually.
Opportunity in Crisis
Agroecologists in Malawi see an opportunity in the midst of the Gulf fertilizer supply disruption. With the interruption of fertilizer supply, farmers are being forced to seek more sustainable alternatives.
“The fertilizer crisis is an opportunity for Malawi to change its agricultural approach”, says an agroecologist. “We can start using more sustainable agricultural practices, such as crop rotation and organic fertilization, to improve soil fertility and reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers”.
Conclusion
The fertilizer crisis in Malawi is a challenge, but it is also an opportunity for the country to change its agricultural approach and become more sustainable. With the help of agroecologists and farmers, Malawi can start using more sustainable agricultural practices and reduce its dependence on chemical fertilizers.
Source / Reference: Mongabay