Macadamia Farmers Leaping Fruits of Hard Work
The Macadamia Nuts Value Chain Enhancement project in being implemented by DAPP Malawi in Thyolo and Mzimba district has this year made its first sale of the Macadamia Nuts to Sable Farming Company.
Rolled out in 2016, the project is working with 3000 farmers; 1500 each in Thyolo and Mzimba districts who are growing Macadamia Nuts. The farmers are organised into clubs of 25 members and have formulated Cooperatives with 750 members to join forces.
In Thyolo district, some farmers from Chimvu Cooperative who planted their trees in 2017 have this year made their first sale of 786 kilograms of Macadamia Nuts to Sable Farming Company that is buying the nuts at 9.16 US Dollars per kilogram.
The Project Leader Eric Mukhuna said this is just the beginning for the farmers to start realizing the benefits of their hard work, adding that it’s only a few of the trees produced fruits this year but they will be able to harvest twice a year from the same trees.
Felix Ngwilima is one of the farmers who comes from Tayali village in Traditional Authority Bvumbwe, he is a member of Talandila Club that is part of Chimvu Cooperative. He managed to collect 86 kilograms of macadamia nuts in his first harvest which have been sold to Sable Farming through the Cooperative.
“I am expecting around 600 thousand Malawi kwacha from this sale and I would like to use this money to improve my household and I will buy a cow for dairy farming,” he said.
Apart from growing the macadamia nuts, DAPP Malawi is also mainstreaming conservation agriculture and sanitation and hygiene activities in the project.
The Secretary for Chimvu Cooperative Mr Boniface Makondetsa from Naveya village in Traditional Authority Boyd said they have not only benefitted from the skills and knowledge to grow Macadamia Nuts but they have also learnt how to produce fertilizers, climate smart agriculture methods, mounting of firewood saving stoves and improved sanitation and hygiene through use of pit latrines, rubbish pits, clothes hanging lines and handwashing among others.
The Macadamia Nuts Value chain Enhancement project is being implemented by DAPP Malawi until December 2021 with funding from Sympany of Netherlands.
DAPP is working in partnership with Sable Farming Company that provides tree seedlings, expertise for growing the trees and a readily available market to buy and process the Macadamia nuts for import to Intersnak in the United Kingdom under the Public Private Partnership with the Dutch government via Sympany of Netherlands.
