The AWSAMe initiative in Malawi receives FAO Global Technical Recognition during the World Food Forum 2025!
On 15 October 2025, during the World Food Forum (WFF), the Ministry of Agriculture’s Department of Agricultural Research Services at Chitedze Research Station in Malawi received international recognition for the impactful solution of ‘Addressing water scarcity in agriculture through applied and adaptive research on sorghum and cowpea and the promotion of drought resilient and nutritious varieties'.
The recognition was conferred during the FAO Global Technical Recognition Ceremony, held as part of FAO’s 80th anniversary celebrations and the WFF. The Ceremony celebrated countries and institutions which have demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation in transforming agrifood systems, particularly in areas related to sustainable management of land, soil and water resources.
The recognition stems from the work of the initiative ‘Addressing Water Scarcity in Agriculture and the environment (AWSAMe)’ in Malawi. This initiative identifies and promotes indigenous, drought-resilient and nutritious crops to enhance climate adaptation, food and nutrition security and improve biodiversity, with a strong focus on empowering rural communities. A key innovation of AWSAMe in Malawi is its collaborative approach between scientists and communities to identify crops at risk of disappearing, undertake field trials, and use scientific profiling — evaluating drought resilience, nutrition content and other traits — to select the most suitable varieties for potential release and broader adoption by farmers.
The AWSAMe project stood out at the Global Technical Recognition Ceremony because of its scientific value, community impact and strong social inclusiveness in promoting opportunity crops, like sorghum and cowpea varieties, as a response to climate change. Both of these crops are well-suited to dryland farming, requiring minimal water and thriving in poor soils, making them ideal assets for improving food security in areas facing water scarcity and land degradation.
For all its achievements, AWSAMe is more than a project – it represents a cost-effective, scalable model for resilient, sustainable, and inclusive agriculture, implemented in Malawi with a modest budget of under USD 50 000. To date, the initiative has reached 550 beneficiaries — 177 directly and 373 indirectly — with targeted focus on gender and youth: women comprise 60 percent of the total participants. The project not only strengthens food and nutrition security but also promotes sustainable land and water resource management in the face of climate change and supports the economic and social empowerment of rural communities.
Indeed, AWSAMe creates and supports livelihoods through seed multiplication and food production centered on these opportunity crops. This focus boosts communities’ resilience to droughts and enhances food security and nutrition. In addition, the initiative promotes the development of these crops’ value chains by working with communities on food processing, recipe development, and local market engagement. These collective efforts create jobs and enhance income, specifically empowering women and youth. Ultimately, the evidence emerging from this program will inform policy recommendations to support the adoption of these and other opportunity crops across Malawi. Inspired by AWSAMe's success, similar engagements are being pursued in other countries.
The FAO Global Technical Recognition underscores the significance of Malawi’s efforts and highlights AWSAMe’s work on opportunity crops as a model with the potential of transforming communities and empowering women and youth through a climate-resilient agriculture.