“I'm now able to feed myself and my family, thanks to this irrigation project,” says Margaret Kalombola, seen here with her children and dependants.

Copyright: WFP/Pamela Kuwali

Winter Cropping: A Great Idea From Malawi

Disaster risk reduction is a priority for WFP Malawi.  This means ensuring a sustainable food supply for communities living in disaster-prone areas. WFP is working to increase the resilence to climate-related and other shocks of some 98,000 people in seven districts so that they are better able to prepare for and respond to disaster. 

Overview

Malawi is a small landlocked country in sub-Saharan Africa, bordering Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique.  It covers an area of 118,500 sq. km and has an estimated population of 14 million. The country is defined as low-income and ranks 171 out of 187 countries in the 2011 UNDP Human Development Index. Over 40 percent of the populations live on less than US$1 per day (2010 Government of Malawi MDG Report).  Malawi’s landholdings are generally small, particularly in the densely populated south, leading to the over-use of marginally productive agricultural land, causing soil erosion and nutrient depletion. More than 40 percent of rural households cultivate less than half a hectare, mainly devoted to maize production.

Malawi's Millennium Goal

Malawi has been named by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation as one of 20 countries to have met Millennium Development Goal number one, to halve the proportion of hungry people ahead of a 2015 deadline. Progress was measured between 1990-92 and 2010-12, against benchmarks established by the international community at the UN General Assembly in 2000.

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