- Climate change and high input costs are worsening food insecurity in Malawi, leaving millions of people vulnerable and soils degraded.
- But a gradual embrace of agroecology is boosting resilience, cutting fertilizer costs by more than 40% and improving yields.
- Local organizations like Small Producers Development and Transporters Association (SPRODETA) are leading farmer training and seed preservation efforts.
- Government support is increasing, but scaling up agroecology nationwide remains a challenge, proponents say.
MZIMBA, Malawi – For years, life was defined by hardship for Grena Banda and her husband, Daniel Mwafulirwa, in Malawi’s northern district of Rumphi. Their small farm was their only reliable source of livelihood, yet it rarely produced enough.
Climate change brought erratic rainfall, sometimes drought and sometimes heavy downpours that washed away fragile topsoil. At the same time, the cost of fertilizer kept rising beyond their reach. Each farming season began with hope but ended with anxiety, as yields rarely matched expectations. Feeding their children, paying school fees and meeting basic household needs felt like an ongoing uphill battle.
“Year in, year out we were facing food shortages. We depended on fertilizer, but we could not afford enough of it,” Banda tells Mongabay. “Sometimes, we harvested so little that we did not know how we would manage until the next season.”
As food insecurity deepened, Banda’s husband resorted to risky survival strategies. When crops failed and hunger loomed, he began entering the nearby Vwaza Game Reserve to hunt illegally. It was a decision driven by desperation. Mwafulirwa knew the risks — patrols, arrests and fines — but he also knew his children needed food.
“I had no choice at the time. When you see your children hungry, you do things you never imagined you would do. Look at these scars,” he says, rolling up his sleeves and showing his wrists. “They are from handcuffs as I was arrested multiple times.”
But today, Mwafulirwa no longer takes those risks, as his family’s situation has improved. The turning point came when his wife joined agroecology training sessions organized by a local organization, Small Producers Development and Transporters Association (SPRODETA), which helps empower communities to be more self-reliant. What she learned challenged everything they thought they knew about farming.
Instead of relying heavily on synthetic fertilizers, SPRODETA encouraged farmers to use manure, compost, crop residues and intercropping techniques to restore soil fertility naturally. It also taught them to plant maize with proper spacing, integrate legumes for nitrogen fixation, conserve water in the soil, and diversify crops and livestock.
“Using the knowledge my wife learnt … we adopted agroecological practices, and that has been the best decision we made,” Mwafulirwa says. “We are now able to produce enough to meet our family needs and surplus, which we sell for income.”
Across Malawi, a quiet transformation is unfolding in the fields of smallholder farmers like Banda and Mwafulirwa. In a country where agriculture forms the backbone of livelihoods and contributes significantly to the national economy, the pressures of climate change, land degradation and rising costs have left many farming households vulnerable.
Seasons have become increasingly unpredictable due to climate change. They’re now marked by erratic rains, prolonged dry spells, cyclones and flooding, disrupting traditional farming calendars and undermining food security. For example, according to a 2025-2026 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report, around 4 million people (approximately 22% of the population) face acute food insecurity.
Heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers and hybrid seeds has potentially further deepened this vulnerability, according to a report from the World Bank. While these inputs promise higher yields, their rising costs have placed them beyond the reach of many rural households. Soil fertility continues to decline and degraded lands have become less productive with each passing year, leading to a cycle of dependency and diminishing returns that have left both farmers and the environment under strain.
However, agroecology is emerging as a practical and locally grounded response to these interconnected challenges, according to local farmers. By applying ecological principles to farming, including the use of organic manure, crop rotation, intercropping, agroforestry, water conservation, and preservation of local seed varieties, farmers like Banda and Mwafulirwa are rebuilding soil health and strengthening resilience to climate shocks.
In rural Malawi, farmers who once struggled to survive now say they’re producing enough to feed their families and generate income, all while restoring the land beneath their feet.
Farmers lead the transition
In Mzimba district, Judith Chikoko, a 44-year-old farmer from Samuel Ngoma village, once struggled to produce enough maize, a staple food for Malawians, from her 3-acre (1.2-hectare) plot. The harvests were poor, and her family’s food security was always uncertain.
“Before, I could only afford one bag of fertilizer and it was not enough. Now with agroecology, I use manure and plant one maize per station and following proper spacing, which has significantly increased my yields. I am able to produce more, spend less and protect the environment,” Chikoko says.
In the nearby village of Hanock Nyangulu, John Nyangulu also turned to agroecology, primarily because of climate change.
“I decided to try agroecology because of the unpredictable rains. I have created permanent and raised beds to ensure that my crops retain moisture during dry spells. I also make compost manure and manage water efficiently, even using wastewater for vegetables and sweet potatoes,” Nyangulu says.
To prevent soil erosion, he’s planted vetiver grass along contours, and uses box ridges, bananas and groundnuts to restore soil health.
“For 1 acre [0.4 hectares], you need about four bags of inorganic fertilizer, which costs close to half a million kwacha,” he says, or about $290. “But with manure, the cost is reduced to around 100, 000 kwacha [about $57]. The savings are significant, and it is much more sustainable.”
District authorities back climate-smart farming
At the district level, agricultural authorities are increasingly recognizing agroecology as a climate adaptation strategy. Hastings Nyirongo, director of agriculture at the Rumphi District Council, says the district is encouraging farmers to build on natural ecological processes rather than depend on synthetic inputs.
“We are mostly encouraging communities to build on the ecological synergies that exist. We are looking at the use of natural nitrogen fixation to improve soil health rather than applying a lot of chemicals,” Nyirongo says. Nevertheless, he acknowledges the existence of various challenges in their efforts to promote agroecology.
“With shrinking public resources, mobility to reach farmers regularly is affected. We have this challenge to adequately reach farmers on a regular basis to mentor as well as train them further on various existing technologies,” he says.
SPRODETA, which supports agroecology in three northern region districts of Mzimba, Rumphi and Karonga, says the transition that farmers are making is very encouraging. The organization supports 150 farmers across the three districts, with 10 agroecology champions spreading information to others.
“Most of the farmers we are working with were already practicing agroecology concepts, only that their concepts were not organized,” says SPRODETA programs manager Anna Chikoko. “Since we came in, they are now organized and more confident.”
She says the farmers embracing agroecological processes have reduced their fertilizer costs while harvesting enough for their families.
“The farmers are currently cutting on cost of fertilizer by over 40% while yielding between 30 and 40 bags of 50 kilograms [110 pounds] of maize per acre, proving agroecology as a sustainable and cost-efficient way to food production,” Chikoko says. “Diversity has also been key in the progress registered where farmers are able to raise various livestock, supporting manure production thus enriching the soil. Manure also supports in water retention, allowing crops to flourish even when there are dry spells.”
Chikoko acknowledges that while there has been progress, there are still some farmers yet to fully adopt agroecology, saying the transitioning from chemical-intensive farming is gradual.
“Currently, our farmers are in their transition phase from heavy reliance on chemical fertilizer. Agroecology encourages farmers to use organic ways of farming, but then you find that some farmers have not yet fully embraced that,” Chikoko says. “We understand, it is a gradual process, it cannot just happen for them to fully shift immediately.”
As a sustainability measure, Chikoko says SPRODETA has constructed a seed bank to preserve local seeds.
“We promote local varieties, especially those about to go extinct. Through the seed bank, farmers are doing seed multiplication to preserve them,” she says.
Resilience, equity and food security
Nozgenji Bilima, an agroecology and food systems expert, says agroecology strengthens both food security and resilience.
“Agroecology provides diversity in both production and diets, which enhances food and nutrition security for households,” she says. “It encourages farmer-led research and ownership, and most of all, gender equality with inclusion of women and youth.”
However, she cautions against oversimplification in farming practices.
“There are trade-offs. Agroecology can be labor-intensive. Intercropping may limit mechanization, and myths that ‘agroecology cannot feed the growing population’ limit investment funding,” she says.
Bilima further stresses the need for a supportive policy framework and public financing.
“One important indicator of success would be having a clear national agroecology strategy. Public funding should also support sustainable approaches rather than focusing mainly on fertilizers and hybrid seeds,” Bilima says.
From practice to policy
At the national level, Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture says it recognizes the urgency of transforming food systems. Gertrude Kambauwa, the ministry’s director of land resources, points out that conventional agriculture faces growing threats from climate change, land degradation and population growth.
“One of the solutions to prevent environmental degradation and climate change while achieving agricultural production is promotion of agroecology,” she says.
She adds that agroecology has been integrated into the Agriculture Land Resources Management Policy as a climate-resilient intervention, with plans to develop a national agroecology strategy. Programs such as the EU-funded Investing in Livelihood Resilience and Soil Health in ACP Countries (ILSA) project and the Ulimi ndi Chilengedwe Programme are already promoting soil restoration, agroforestry and sustainable water management.
“In terms of verification and impact measurement, farmer field schools are being used to showcase agroecology practices, with strong monitoring and evaluation systems in place,” Kambauwa says. “What remains is implementing agroecology at a scale so that these benefits are experienced by many farmers in the country.”
Banner image: A maize field cultivated using agroecology concepts. Image by Kelvin Tembo.
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