Success Stories from Our Members in the field

Malawian Farmers Unite To Find Power; Self-Sufficiency, ACDI/VOCA

Like much of southern Africa, Malawi is suffering through a severe shortage of food caused by the drought, the depletion of emergency grain reserves, and infrastructure challenges in the agricultural sector.

But thanks to help from the American nongovernmental organization ACDI/VOCA, there is hope for 100,000 members of the National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi, which represents 32 profitable member-owned farm groups that sold $14 million of crops in 2001.

Before the Smallholders Association existed, farmers in Malawi faced nearly insurmountable obstacles to bringing their crops to market, such as unscrupulous buyers, lack of marketing expertise, corruption, high costs for raw materials and unreliable deliveries.

But ACDI/VOCA, in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development, helped the farmers in 1994 to organize themselves in a way that brought to bear their combined power. The initial group grew by 1997 into 14 associations that represented over 24,000 farmers, giving life to the National Smallholders Farmers Association, which encourages its members to form village-based "clubs" and independent business associations to help them address their problems.

The results have been impressive.

By bringing to the table the bargaining power of thousands of small farmers, the association has been able to negotiate transportation contracts that cost half as much, eliminate bribes and shorten delivery times by more than 60 percent. Bulk purchases of basic farming materials, such as fertilizer, helps farmers spend less to produce a crop, which in turn makes them better able to compete with the lower prices of larger farms. And effective advocacy with the Malawi government has resulted in more favorable tax policies for small farmers.

The association reorganized itself in 2002 to separate its business operations from its efforts to address broader development issues in Malawi, such as literacy training, promotion of gender equity and raising awareness about HIV/AIDS.

The partnership between ACDI/VOCA, the U.S. Agency For International Development and the people of Malawi is a clear example of effective assistance that more than achieves its goal. Not only are farmers becoming self-sufficient by gaining power in the marketplace and sharpening their business skills, but their communities are also benefiting from new business opportunities and improved social services as a result of the Association's efforts.