by CARE Austria Team, on behalf of FoSTA-Health
December 5, 2024
World Soil Health Day: EU and UKRI-funded FoSTA-Health project researches solutions for improved food security
Southern Africa has experienced serious impacts from the 2023-2024 weather phenomenon, El Niño, and is facing the risk of a deepening and widespread hunger crisis from the worst drought in a hundred years.
The government of Malawi declared a national state of emergency in March 2024, as almost 40 per cent of the population is at risk of starvation. The combination of recurring weather extremes, environmental degradation, overreliance on maize, climate change, and economic crisis means that 6.1 million people in the country are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
Malawi is suffering greatly from the combined effects of environmental and climate crises. The El Niño-induced weather events combined with environmental degradation have led to widespread crop failure with increased and prolonged droughts, floods, water shortages, and livestock deaths. More than half of the annual harvest has been destroyed, leading to rapidly depleting stocks and increasing food prices. In 2024, droughts and floods destroyed 44 per cent of the land used to grow maize, the country's main staple food.
Maize as a staple food
The agricultural system is mainly focused on maize cultivation, which leads to problems with soil quality, unreliable crop yields, and human nutrition. Research has shown that balanced, diversified agriculture including legumes, nuts, and animal species can help to improve soil health. A field experiment study being carried out jointly with 50 farmers and conducted as part of the EU and UKRI-funded FoSTA-Health project in the Zomba region is investigating how intercropping affects the nutrient cycle, food self-sufficiency, and household nutrition.
Positive effects, but limited resources
The study shows that intercropping and using organic manure improves soil quality and makes nutrients more utilizable. Although the benefits of diversification are well known - higher productivity, better soil quality, and climate adaptation - limited access to land remains a major hurdle. Larger farms report that they can use crop rotation with legumes, but smaller farms report relying on primarily on maize cultivation.
Food security needs land and agricultural diversity
Agricultural diversification can improve soil, yields, and nutrition, but land scarcity and the limited control over land use for women in Malawi remain an obstacle. Strategies should consider the different conditions of the farms and people in order to achieve sustainable improvements.
