sustainable intensification: a new paradigm for african agriculture – experiences of smallholder...

National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi

Sustainable Intensification: A New Paradigm for African Agriculture – Experiences of

Smallholder Farmers

Presentation at a Side Event during FARA Science Week and General Assembly to be held in Accra, Ghana – July 15-20, 2013

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Dyborn Chibonga NASFAM

Chief Executive Officer


‘If agriculture has a final frontier, it is Africa. After agriculture transformations in Asia and Latin America since the 1960s, Africa remains the one place where

the farming potential has barely been scratched. African agriculture has less irrigation, less fertilizer use, less

soil and seed research, less mechanization, less rural financing, fewer paved farm-to-market roads than any

other farming region in the world.’

Roger Thurow, Wall Street Journal, 27 May 2008

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Working in Farmer Organized Groups: Strategic Direction for Smallholder Farmers

• Smallholder farmers need urgent support for them to work in organized groups so they can produce enough food for their families and extra for their national economies.

• These may take the form of farmer clubs, associations, and cooperatives, depending on their needs and local realities.

• Such an approach will help them to sustainably integrate in various food and feed value chains.

• A case in point is the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM).

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• NASFAM has formed farmer clubs to achieve commercially viable economies of scale and the collective power of voice.

• Clubs have integrated to form farmer owned “Associations”, which are better placed to represent the clubs and provide larger-scale marketing and business support to develop smallholder farming as a business.

• The Associations legally registered as NASFAM under the Trustees Incorporation Act in 1998.

• Currently, NASFAM has mobilised 45 Associations in 19 Districts with 108,000 farmer members.

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• NASFAM believes that “the future belongs to the organised.”

• When working in organised groups, smallholder farmers can effectively participate in sustainably intensified agriculture.

• There is a lot of merit in the collective approach as opposed to individualism.

• Organised farmers form a social network, enjoy economies of scale and speak with one voice to defend their interests in the food and feed value chains.

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Merits of Working in Organised Groups

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Strategic Programme Interventions for Sustainable Intensification

Crop Production and MarketingCrop Production and Marketing Farm Input Access

Capacity Building

Policy and Advocacy

Food & Nutrition Security

HIV/Aids & Gender IntegrationHIV/Aids & Gender Integration

Information and CommunicationInformation and Communication

Rural Infrastructure DevelopmentRural Infrastructure Development

Adult Literacy/Numeracy

Linkages to Service Providers

Conservation Agriculture Conservation Agriculture

Governance Leadership and Democratic Institutions

Monitoring Evaluation & Communication

Value Added Processing

National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of MalawiConclusion

• Agriculture is the main occupation of the majority of Africa’s population.

• Smallholder farmers represent a vast powerhouse that needs to be supported to realize its potential for sustainable intensification

• Organised farmers can be mobilized to address challenges of modern agriculture and treat farming as business in order to take part in agriculture food and feed value chains.

• Africa is the last frontier of the 21st Century in which its vast resources and people can be harnessed to produce enough quantities and quality required to feed a growing world population.

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Thank YouZikomo!

www.nasfam.org

““The future belongs to the organized”The future belongs to the organized”