Building on Smallholder Traditional Farming Practices to Enhance Cost-effective Land Resources Conservation in Malawi: A Case Study of Sangadzi Area

Abstract

In Malawi land resources degradation is a serious problem threatening productivity of land resources and affecting the livelihood of the majority of smallholder farmers. Programs to curb further degradation of the land resources and ensure increased food security among the resource poor households are underway. Most of these programs however, tend to focus more on the research-tested conventional methods than on traditional farming methods and practices. However, understanding traditional farming practices and building on what farmers do based on the resources under their exposure, offers an opportunity to redirect conventional research efforts towards provision of sustainable solutions to the common rural problems of hunger and land resources degradation. Based on a field survey, the objective of this paper is to analyse smallholder traditional land resources conservation practices and soil fertility management techniques and try to find their compatibility with the research efforts.