Project Launch: 7-22-20

With this World Connect grant, the Kasemba Farmers Club will train 20 women and 10 youths in horticultural techniques and agribusiness. A demonstration plot will be established for the training period. Beyond planting and harvesting, participants will also be trained in post-harvest handling of their produce, as well as how to establish profitable market links. After the training, the members will be provided with the seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and a water pump which they can use for irrigation. This project has the potential to impact the income of the 30 participants as well as the food security of 380 households in the area. 

Project Update: 11-30-20

The Kasemba Farmers Club has used the $3,783.56 grant from World Connect to boost their horticultural farming with solar irrigation equipment. Initially the 23 members club was farming using manual irrigation, which was tiresome and led to failure to have better harvests for adequate sales. The coming in of this grant has seen two fields of horticultural crops established, one acre for Cucumber and quarter acre for Tomato.  Over 1.5 tons of  Cucumbers have been harvested and sold to local community markets and hotels returning sizable income to farmers. A total of 3,500 tomato trees were planted and have started producing fruits and will be ready for harvesting in January while another lot of tomato nursery for phase two  has been sown to be  transplanted in December of 2020.

To enhance effectiveness, the farmers have been trained in crop husbandry practices and new agriculture technologies both theory and practical to help boost horticultural production. They have also been trained in agribusiness concepts covering the topics like: Leadership and Governance, Farming as a Business and Enterprise Analysis, Business planning, Records and Store Management, Market and Marketing, Saving and Resource Mobilization. This project will benefit the 23 women framers who are directly involved as well as their households and their community.

Final Report: 8-31-21

Thirty women of Kasemba Farmers Club from the area of Traditional Authority Masula in Lilongwe have undergone training in cucumber, tomato production and agribusiness management facilitated by Food & Agribusiness Development Company, courtesy of a $ 3,157.53 World Connect investment. Having learnt modern cultivation technologies and better marketing strategies, they produced a total of 5 metric tonnes of the two crops and increased revenue for the group by 60 percent. The new technologies have been widely adopted and are  being used by the farmers in their own gardens. The  MK 247,000.00 ($353) realised after the sale of produce from the project, led to the birth of a Village Savings and Loan group where club members borrow money to support their household businesses that in turn  help members meet basic household needs.