Climate extremes, policy confuse crop choices for Malawi farmers
LILONGWE, Malawi (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Elias Kanyangale is ecstatic about his maize harvest. Balancing on a homemade ladder, the farmer retrieves cobs from a full granary, the bounty of this year’s good rains, which broke three years of drought in Malawi.
Kanyangale, 44, from Kalumbu village, part of the capital city Lilongwe, says his 5-tonne harvest of maize is double the previous year’s crop, and he has some soya beans too.
But he is still worried about his income.
“I am not sure I will get good prices for my crop. I planted more maize for home consumption and more soya beans for sale because the rains were good after the drought of last year, but if I do not get good prices, I will not have enough income to help my family,” he said.
CIFOR