FARMSE Empowers SCTP Beneficiaries

FARMSE Empowers SCTP Beneficiaries

Financial Access for Rural Markets, Smallholders and Enterprise (FARMSE) has called upon ultra-poor households who are beneficiaries of Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) to explore other economic activities for sustainability of their livelihoods after graduating from the program.

FARMSE Knowledge Management and Communications Officer, Golie Nyirenda, said households that are benefiting from SCTP will one day graduate from program.

“We are providing systems for the graduation of ultra-poor families into sustainable and resilient households and our focus is on women and youths who studies reveal are economically marginalized,” said Nyirenda.

Nyirenda further said FARMSE is providing capacity building interventions that will contribute to the alleviation of poverty and income inequalities among women and youths.

“These groups of people face myriads of challenges such as adverse food shortages, access to health and nutrition services and change of mindset on how they conduct their daily activities or businesses, hence the need to equip them with business and farming skills,” said Nyirenda.

In Balaka where FARMSE is working with Oxfam through Eagles Relief, Patson Chalamanda, a vegetable farmer from Mwalero village in Traditional Authority Nsamala said extension services on climate smart agriculture he received from Eagles Relief has helped him realize more benefits from his vegetable garden.

“Agricultural extension workers from Eagles Relief have been training us on conservation agriculture and production and use of chimbeya manure and on this field I had 5000 heads of cabbage, sold 3000 heads at K150 each and I realized K450, 000. I bought a motorcycle which I had been longing for a long time and have also bought my water pump for irrigation,” narrated Chalamanda with a smiling face.

FARMSE is working with Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP) in Mulanje under a project dubbed Building Sustainable Livelihoods for Ultra-poor (BSLUP) project.

Femia Kulumiza from Mbendera village in Traditional Authority Nkanda in Mulanje district is a BSLUP beneficiary and she says because of the project, she has harvested 28 bags of rice this year, a thing that never happened before.

“Behind those bags of rice are bags of maize. Our extension workers have been advising us to practice crop diversification. We also have a village bank and loans group here which I am a member and through the VSL group I have seen a boost in my farming,” said Kulumiza.

FARMSE is working with partners in implementing various poverty alleviation programs in all districts of Malawi to the tune of 57.7 million US Dollars courtesy of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) which has pumped in 42 million US Dollars, Malawi Government 9.6 million US Dollars, and 6.1 million US Dollars from the implementing partners.

FARMSE is reaching out to 432, 774 households.

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