Cooperative Helps Farmers Meet Market Demand
For many years, the farmer members of the Soloti Cooperative faced challenges of heavy reliance on manual labor and limited access to modern farming equipment. This meant that they weren’t able to meet the volume and quality demands of formal markets.
Through the Malawi Blantyre Program, the cooperative leadership got connected to the Agriculture Commercialization (AGCOM) Project. AGCOM is a project of the Government of Malawi that is backed by the World Bank. It helps farmers move from subsistence to commercial level farming.
With guidance from local extension agents and other project partners, Soloti Cooperative submitted a competitive grant proposal to AGCOM. Cooperative members were thrilled to be awarded enough funds to purchase four motorized tillers.
The impact has been immediate and visible for Soloti Cooperative members. Instead of taking several days to prepare a field for planting, it only takes a few hours. This means that both planting and crop management can happen at optimal times, resulting in a better crop and higher yields. Farmers are able to cultivate a larger area and are can now grow both the quantity and quality of crops that buyers are looking for.
In addition to the agricultural successes cooperative members are now enjoying, this achievement highlights what can happen when various stakeholders work together for systemic change. Soloti Cooperative is a model of how strategic market links can unlock investment, innovation and income growth for smallholder farmers.
Malawi Blantyre is led by Catholic Relief Services and several local partners including Agro-Dealers Associations, DAECC and the Agricultural Departments of Blantyre, Chikwawa and Nsanje