400 farmers graduate in farm business studies
About 400 farmers have graduated in farm business studies courtesy of the Malawi Lake Basin Programme in Salima and Mangochi districts.
The graduating team underwent two-year practical sessions highlighting the use of gross margin, cash flows and other contemporary record devices in farm business.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony in Salima on Monday, Malawi Lake Basin business development officer John Magombo said the training was designed to equip farmers with knowledge and skills on basic farm business ideologies.
“We aim at transforming ordinary farmers and graduate them from normal subsistence farming to commercial farming to uplift their livelihoods and sustain their household income throughout the year,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of Salima district agricultural development officer, land resources officer Gift Majawa thanked Malawi Lake Basin Programme for the training.
He said many farmers lack such financial expertise to register significant earnings through agriculture.
One of the graduating farmers, Fanny Mtalimanja, observed that farmers have already started benefiting from the training, saying it helped them to bargain for better markets for their produce last year.
The training also involved post-harvest management, food budgeting, market searching and value addition.
Since 2016, the organisation has engaged about 1 000 farmers on similar interventions besides championing climate smart agriculture in Salima. n
