Agriculture and rural development

Agriculture, a mode a subsistance

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In Agriculture and Rural Development in Malawi

Malawi's economy is entirely dependent on agriculture and the country is facing serious environmental degradation due to the over-exploitation of resources. Consequently, Uniterra's partners have chosen to act on three levels: strengthening farmer associations and cooperatives, diversification of food and cash crops, and promoting the sustainable management of natural resources.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN MALAWI Area: 118,000 km2 Population: 12.3 million (CIDA, 2004) Gross National Income (GNI) per capita: $170 US (CIDA) Agriculture accounts for 38% of the GDP The food crisis in Malawi is due to a certain number of factors, including chronic poverty, one-crop farming and unfavourable climatic conditions. Other factors, such as chronic malnutrition, a health system struggling to combat endemic diseases, limited resources, and the increasingly onerous burden of HIV/AIDS, are aggravating the situation (UNICEF).	ON THE GROUND Malawi's agricultural sector is little organized and fragmented. We are working to strengthen agricultural associations and cooperatives. As for food diversity, we are acting to ensure a stronger capacity to adapt to changes in market conditions and are promoting a greater variety of food crops to ensure a healthier and more balanced diet among the population. We are also contributing to implanting natural resources management that is more sustainable. PROFILE OF A PARTNER IN MALAWI Farmers Union of Malawi Farmers Union of Malawi is national farmer owned organization. Currently, FUM is working with 15 commodity associations and one cooperative society across Malawi with a total of 2400,000 farmers participating. The goal is to establish a strong apex body for all farmers in Malawi. FUM objectives are to build capacity of farmer organizations, to promote interest of farmers by lobbying government, to source private/public funding to develop enterpreneurship skills, and to help farmers establish national and international level links. OTHER PARTNERS IN MALAWI Natural Resources College Department of National Parks and Wildlife Catholic Development Commission of Malawi
REDUCE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER Food insecurity and malnutrition constitute priority sectors for Uniterra's partners in every country in its program: Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.