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Nasfam links 30 000 farmers to markets

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi (Nasfam) has identified ready markets to benefit about 30 000 smallholder farmers.

This was revealed during an organised field tour of Mchinji, Balaka, Mangochi and Machinga.

Smallholder farmers such as these to benefit frim Nasfam initiative
Smallholder farmers such as these to benefit frim Nasfam initiative

The tour, which has already secured contracts for the smallholder farmers, forecasts that 300 metric tonnes of soya beans, 120MT of groundnuts, 180MT  of pigeon peas and 250MT of maize will be sold through these engagements, with women accounting for over 75 percent.

In an interview,  Nasfam programme manager Raymond Mwenitete said the initiative will improve the marketing of the commodities where both buyers and smallholders as sellers will have fair gains and maximise their profits as better prices will be offered to the farmer.

“As organisers, it has always been Nasfam’s agenda to provide more than one option for commodity marketing to help reach out to as many members as possible.

“In this regard, with the assistance from the Usaid through Feed the Future Integrating Nutrition in Value Chains, the main objective is to improve the marketing of legumes crops such as soya beans, groundnuts and pigeon peas as crops with potential to improve farmers’ income due to the ever growing demand,” he said.

Mwenitete said farmers are expected to make millions in profits as a result of the initiative.

However, he bemoaned the tendency of dishonesty, lack of organisation among smallholder farmers, poor quality commodity and ow volume supply.

Henry Gagam, value chain competitive specialist at Feed the Future Integrating Nutrition in Value Chains, said through the initiative buyers will be informing farmers on end market requirements like quality and quantities.

According to Gaga, the farmers are being educated on regulatory and quality requirements of end markets so that the farmers produce according to the market requirements.

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