Malawi
Overview
Malawi, a predominantly agrarian country, faces severe environmental degradation and climate vulnerabilities that the "Supporting AFR100 by engaging with small-scale forest and farm producers" programme seeks to address. The nation is grappling with widespread deforestation, land degradation, and biodiversity loss, primarily driven by unsustainable agricultural practices, charcoal production, and expanding human settlements.
Over 90 percent of Malawians rely on wood fuel for energy, further accelerating deforestation. The degradation of forests and arable land has resulted in declining agricultural productivity, worsening food insecurity, and increasing vulnerability to climate shocks such as floods and droughts.
Climate change exacerbates these challenges, with the country experiencing more frequent and severe weather events, including erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, and intense flooding. These climatic changes have dire consequences for smallholder farmers, who constitute the majority of the population and are highly dependent on rain-fed agriculture. The resulting economic losses and diminished livelihoods perpetuate a cycle of poverty and environmental degradation. Moreover, the loss of biodiversity in Malawi undermines ecosystem resilience, affecting pollination, water purification, and other essential ecological services.
The target landscapes for the project, Ntcheu and Mangochi districts, include degraded agricultural lands, deforested areas, and critical watersheds. These areas are characterized by declining soil fertility, reduced water availability, and increased susceptibility to climate shocks. Restoring these landscapes will enhance their productivity and ecological functionality. In addition, the project will prioritize areas with high community dependence on natural resources to maximize social and environmental impact.
Objectives and targets
The main objective of the programme is to provide direct financial and technical support to forest and farm producer organizations, communities and micro-, small and medium size enterprises to scale up locally driven restoration action and to create related new or improved, value-added businesses and income opportunities, particularly at local community level with a strong focus on women and youth.
Restoration targets
- 7 000 ha under restoration
- 20 000 ha under improved management
Key value chains to be supported
- Crop and livestock
- Non-timber forest products
- Forest trees production/plantations
- Fruit trees (seedlings and fruit) production
Contacts
FAO-AFR100 Programme
Priscah Munthali
[email protected]
AFR100 focal point
Teddie Kamoto
[email protected]
FAO Country Office
Babagana Ahmadu
[email protected]
General enquiries
For any other information about the programme, please contact:
Implementation
Component 1 focuses on creating a robust enabling environment to support forest and land restoration and value-added opportunities for local communities, including Indigenous Peoples and forest and farm producer organizations.
This component aims to:
- Strengthen governance capacities: by equipping local communities with the skills and knowledge to effectively engage in policy and legal frameworks, they will be empowered to advocate for their rights and interests within forest and land restoration initiatives.
- Enhance access to finance: the component promotes innovative financial solutions, including blended finance models, to mobilize private sector capital. This ensures local communities have access to the necessary resources to drive restoration efforts and establish sustainable practices.
The goal is to create an environment where policies, regulations, and financial mechanisms actively support local communities involvement in forest and land restoration, fostering equitable and inclusive participation.
Component 2 emphasizes the restoration of degraded lands under the stewardship of local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and forest and farm producer organizations.
It focuses on:
- Restoration plan for Mangochi district (20,000 ha) developed
- 3,000 people within Mangochi and Ntcheu district engaged in forest and landscape restoration planning, implementation, and monitoring
- 7,000 ha of degraded landscape in Ntcheu and Mangochi districts under restoration by the end of 2027
- 40 beneficiaries in Ntcheu and Mangochi district supported with the provision of small grants to implement restoration activities.
This component ensures that communities are equipped with the tools, resources, and technical knowledge to lead forest and land restoration efforts effectively, restoring productivity and ecological health to degraded landscapes.
Component 3 is dedicated to fostering restoration-linked value chains and generating green jobs and livelihoods.
It seeks to:
- Support value-chain innovations: enhancing the technical capacities of local communities to adapt and create value-added products and services related to forest and land restoration.
- Business incubation: building the capacity of local local communities to develop restoration-related business plans with credible market value propositions.
- Market linkages: establishing connections between micro, small and medium enterprises and buyers to strengthen relationships.
By promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, this component helps communities realize the economic benefits of forest and land restoration, ensuring sustainable livelihoods, and reinforcing the long-term viability of restoration efforts.
Component 4 aims to equip stakeholders, partners, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and forest and farm producer organizations with the tools and platforms needed to monitor, communicate, and share results effectively.
Key activities include:
- Monitoring and reporting: building capacities for data collection, monitoring, and evaluation to track progress and demonstrate impact.
- Knowledge sharing: facilitating the dissemination of best practices and lessons learned at local, national, and global levels through platforms like the AFR100 Initiative and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) Framework for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring.
- Awareness and adaptive learning: raising awareness and fostering continuous learning to enhance the scalability and impact of restoration efforts.
This component ensures that local communities can actively participate in knowledge exchange, contributing to broader forest and land restoration goals while benefiting from shared insights and innovations.
Key implementing partners
- Department of Forestry, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change
- Ntcheu and Mangochi District Councils
- Service providers: IUCN, mHub, LUANAR TACE
Other partners will be identified during project implementation.
Key targets
- Two technical orders produced for better enabling forest and farm producer organizations and local communities to engage in forest and land restoration and related value chains.
- Two national institutions strengthened in their capacity.
- 20 000 ha under improved management in Mangochi.
- 1 000 people engaged in forest landscape restoration planning, implementation and monitoring.
- 7 000 ha put under restoration.
- 50 micro-projects implemented.
- Six business plans developed.
- Six local communities with improved capacities.
- Six companies supported by incubation services.
- Two to three good practices collected.
The programme budget for Malawi is approximately USD 5.5 million.