The Government of Malawi has set aside the second week of the month of January every year as a National Tree Planting Week where all Malawians participate in tree planting. This week is aimed at encouraging the general public to plant trees in their homes for domestic use. From 1979 to 1993, the government raised seedlings in over 70 tree nurseries which were distributed throughout the country. The seedlings raised were issued free to communities or sold at a subsidized price. This system was found to be unsustainable since it was expensive for the government and people could not realize the importance of planting and caring for trees. In 1994, the policy changed to allow full participation of all communities in raising their own seedlings for their afforestation requirements. The farmers get free seed from the Forestry Department through District Forestry Officers and other non-governmental organizations. They also receive some technical advice that help them to achieve good results in their efforts.
The government also has a number of timber and fuelwood plantations in all three regions of the country and the Forestry Department manages these plantations. Some tea and tobacco estates also have some fuelwood plantations that are used for curing tobacco and tea.
Malawi also participated in a regional range-wide seed collection of indigenous fruit trees like Sclerocarya birrea and Uapaca kirkiana which were exchanged between the ten member states participating in SADC Tree Seed Centre Network Project and four countries which are participating in the domestication of indigenous fruits Project under ICRAF (International Center for Research on Agroforestry) respectively.
On the other hand, the government also has a program of promoting self-help initiatives through Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) which funds projects in the country. Under this program, there is a community afforestation component, which supports community afforestation projects in various districts. The people initiate a forest project, which can be planting bare hills, along riverine areas or even community woodlots. The program buys tree seed, equipment and other materials to be used in the project. It also pays for nursery workers who work there on a full time basis. When these trees are planted, they belong to the local community for various uses.
