By Chimwemwe Mphande, MANA
Small scale farmers in Traditional Authority Kawinga in Machinga have become active prayers in various agricultural value chain following an innovative marketing skills training that was provided by Adventist Relief Agency (ADRA) through Farmers Market School (FMS).
Chairperson for Mpapa Farmers’ Cooperative, Haji Mandowa gratitude to the faith-based organization on Wednesday after the training, the small scale farmers have learnt how to negotiate with customers and all the processes involved in the value chain.
“This has helped us sell our produce at a better price than before,” he said, adding that the farmers group is now selling its produce using contract farming.
He cited a contract the grouping has with Nandolo Farmers Association whose agreement is that they should be selling all pigeon peas to registered association.
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“We have already agreed on the pricing. We used the negotiation skills gained from the training on farmer market school.”
He also disclosed the Mpapa Cooperative’s initiative to solicit funds from Agriculture Commercialization (AGRICOM) project has helped them a lot that would assist the group’s plans to be a fully fledged commercial entity by, among others, owning a maize mill and a warehouse.
A rice scheme in Machinga
“At the moment members are contributing K5,000 for land acquisition. We believe the warehouse and maize mill will increase our financial base,” he said.
His vice-chairperson, Prisca Nayisoni said each individual farmers has developed economically.
“Some members have bought goats, others are running grocery shops and as for me, I have moved from a glass thatched house to an iron sheet roofed house within one year — all because of applying the concepts learnt from FMS,” she said.
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Agribusiness officer for Machinga District Council, Bright Mbirika described FMS as a key that can overturn hand-to-mouth farming into a commercial enterprise.
“FMS opened up the marketing skills for the farmer, who have to work in groups in order to be easily accessed by extension workers for such services,” Mbirika said.
ADRA’s Machinga coordinator, Belinda Chimombo said FMS is one of the pillars of Action for Social Change (ASC) program, which her organization has been implementing in the district.
A Machinga farmer who also runs a grocery shop
She said the program is mainly aimed at building the capacity of Community Based Groups so that they should be able to identify and address development issues through advocacy, partnerships and networking.
“One of our objectives was that communities should have access to markets, sell their products and purchase necessary goods for their livelihoods.”
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She added that the program is slowly changing the farmers’ negative perception towards farming, saying FMS gives them an opportunity to actively participate in the value chain process.
“The program has really transformed farmers as they have undergone a process from being almost totally market illiterate to being better informed farmers about how the markets for their crops function,” she said.
ADRA started working with Mpapa farmers since 2012 where it helped them move from being a farmers’ club to a registered cooperative by 2019.