By Salome Gangire
CHIKWAWA-(MANA)-Financial Access for Rural Markets, Smallholders and Enterprises (FARMSE) beneficiaries have hailed the project for instilling a saving culture amongst them.
Speaking during a media tour one of the participants Levison Joseph from Sam Village, Traditional Authority Maseya in Chikwawa, said the finance management training she received when she was enrolled in the program, made her join a Village, Savings and Loans (VSL) group where she saves money.
“During the training, we were drilled on financial management on saving amongst others so that we should be saving money and graduate into self-reliance,” she said.
Joseph said under the program, she received MK236, 000 seed capital in 2021 to venture into business.
She said through the business and VSL she has acquired livestock’s and managed change her grass thatched house to iron roofed.
She said her life now has been transformed she attributes the change to current status to the seed capital she received which made her switch business from cotton farming to livestock rearing.
She said the new business has enabled her to realise more disposable income to meet more of her daily domestic needs while she saves some money with Tiyese VSL.
Another beneficiary from Chikwatu Village in the area of Traditional Authority, Mgabu, Charles Million said when he received his seed capital from the project, he joined Tikondane VSL where he is able to make savings which make it easy for him to pay school fees for his children.
“Through my savings I pay school fees for my children at Madziabango Community Day Secondary School.
Million too says he managed to replace his grass thatched house with corrugated iron sheets.
Grace Namseta from Namasonya Village, Traditional Authority Namseta in Thyolo is also singing a new tune.
She now boasts of owning a dairy cow through FARMSE program which is now a source of her livelihood.
The Project being implemented in Chikwawa by Care Malawi targets beneficiaries of Social Cash Transfer VSL trained beneficiaries how to manage their funds in order to achieve self-reliance.
Farmse Ultra Graduation Specialist O’Brien Mandala said almost 15,700 of the 20,800 beneficiaries of the utra-poor component have graduated by meeting the program’s bench marks for graduation.
“Under this program we have seen that beneficiaries are moving up. We started with 20, 800 beneficiaries almost 15,700 have graduated by meeting the indicators put on the program for graduation,” he said.
He said the project has three components; utra –poor program where they are working with beneficiaries under Social cash transfer to support them so that they attain sustainable livelihoods.
Mandala said most of the beneficiaries’ livelihood has improved as most of them when the program was rolling out did not have assets like livestock.
But now most of these beneficiaries own livestock and have permanent housing structures with corrugated iron sheets and are able to send their children to school.
He said the other component is Community based financial organisation where they are promoting savings and loans groups to have a saving culture and it is pleasing to note that most beneficiaries are in (VSL) groups.
He added that the VSL groups were well trained such that they believe that even if the programs winds up, most of them will be sustainable.
The Ultra Graduation Specialist said on the component of renovation outreach facility, they are supporting financial services to scale up in the rural areas so that the rural communities without banks should have a chance to banking facilities.
He said over 95percent of the beneficiaries are still doing business after receiving support from FARMSE.
FARMSE is a seven-year national wide development programme implemented by the Ministry of finance from 2018-2025 with joint funding from the international fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the government of Malawi and the private sector.