Tag Archives: CISANET National Director Pamela Kuwali

Agriculture

CISANET for food policies’ coherence in Nutrition improvement

Lloyd M’bwana 1 Comment
National dialogue for food policy to improve nutrition conference participants

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) has emphasized the need for the proper coordination on food policies in improving nutrition in Malawi.

The agriculture think tank including its partners Civil Society Organisation Nutrition Alliance (CSONA) observes that Malawi has comprehensive and good food policies that advances nutrition but the challenges remain on coherence towards food producers in rural areas.

CISANET National Director Pamela Kuwali told the Maravi Post that food policies should trickle down to rural areas where main food producers.

Kuwali said food producers in rural areas must be conversant with policies that advance nutrition values for better nation.

She was speaking during the sidelines of national dialogue for food policy to improve nutrition conference (virtual) on Thursday, August 19, 2021 in the capital Lilongwe.

“Malawi has good food policies that advances nutrition improvement but proper coordination is lacking that a farmer in the village should understand them to produce quality nutritious food.

“This is the reason we continue to hold food system dialogues on both local and national levels for coherence food policies towards nutrition,” says Kuwali.

Agriculture Ministry’s Director of Extension Services Dr Jolome Nkhoma assured the gathering of government commitment towards filling the gap on food policies towards advancing nutrition.

Dr Nkhoma appreciates food policy lab saying is eye opener for the state adjust proper approach in improving nutrition in the country.

The dialogue for Food Policy to improve Nutrition attracted participants from traditional leaders, civil society organizations, government agencies, media, researchers and among others.

The Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) is implementing the Strengthening Rural Governance for
the Right to Adequate Food Project in partnership with Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and Community Initiative for
Self Reliance (CISER).

The meeting was held in partnership with Wilt Hunger Hief (WHH) and Community initiative for self reliance (CISER) under a project called Strengthening Rural Governance for the Right to Food funded by BMZ.

The project aims to strengthen local governance around the realisation of the Right to Food in Malawi. Through this project, CISANET is partnering with Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) in facilitating research to strengthen the evidence base supporting the need for an African Food Policy.

This work is part of a continental effort being led by the Africa Union and AFSA to identify tools required to deliver sustainable food systems in Africa and to identifying priorities for reform.

According to the second Biannual Review Report: Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP 2018), Malawi is still off track in achieving a 6% annual growth from Agriculture in its GDP.

Agriculture, Malawi, Top News

Launched £8 million global research fund to avert Malawi’s food crisis-CISANET

Lloyd M’bwana

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The just launched the Global Challenge Research Fund – Agricultural and Food Systems Resilience: Increasing Capacity and Advising Policy (GCRF_AFRICAP) Program is likely to avert food crisis in some African countries including Malawi.

The GCRF-AFRICAP is an £8m (7.7bn MWK) program which will conduct capacity building and research activities across Africa (South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi) and the UK.

It is led by the University of Leeds, a leading international university in the north of England, in partnership with FANRPAN, a pan African multi-stakeholder policy network whose regional secretariat is based in Pretoria, South Africa.

The program is focused on generating evidence-based policy to transform agriculture and food systems in Africa with a view of identifying key steps towards a more resilient food system for 2050.

The AFRICAP also aims at improving productivity of farming systems, and their resilience to shocks emanating from climate change impacts and it links to ongoing projects between Leeds and Malawi assessing likely climate futures.

Research will be conducted in the United Kingdom and in selected African countries including Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia, thus enabling the project to provide a multi-country synthesis and lessons.

In Malawi, like in the other benefiting countries, AFRICAP will advise government, donors and civil society on the development of climate-smart agri-food system pathways.

It will look to focus studies and interventions in ‘special agricultural zones’ where research can be turned into evidence, leading to policy that is capable of influencing practices.

AFRICAP will further assess how food, agriculture and natural resources policies can be developed so that they support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The GCRF-AFRICAP intends to work with key stakeholders to design climate-smart scenarios and agree development pathways to guide national policy and its implementation and it will involve continued support for ongoing conservation agriculture field trial studies at Chitedze Agricultural Research Station through the Department of Agricultural Research Services.

On farm trials will also be supported starting in Nkhotakota and Balaka districts.

As FANRPAN’s node host in Malawi, the Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) will coordinate program activities, including providing support to the Department of Agricultural Research Services to ensure the successful implementation of ongoing field trials at Chitedze Agricultural Research Station; and the administration of a bursary scheme for African and UK scholars to attend bespoke research training courses.

CISANET will partner the department to develop and run applied research projects, and will jointly generate and disseminate research outputs through joint research-policy forums.

Addressing the news conference in Lilongwe on Thursday, CISANET National Director Pamela Kuwali the program aims at identifying and implementing evidence based policy pathways.

Kuwali said this will facilitate the development of sustainable, productive, climate smart agricultural systems to meet food security and economic development needs.

“As CISANET, we recognize the important role that this research project will play in identifying evidence policy pathways that can build livelihood resilience to Malawi and African countries at large. Our role therefore will be to create policy space to share the lessons and evidence generated from the policy research.

“It is our belief in CISANET that such a research project can keep the momentum and shape the direction of our efforts to make our agriculture more climate smart and therefore, resilient to climate related shocks,” says Kuwali.