Malawi: 10 greenhouses with solar facilities built for women farmers

Three project sites have been built in Malawi, featuring 10 greenhouses built among

newly planted maize fields, to help women farmers and support their contribution to

agriculture in the country.The facilities stand out not just because they represent an innovative farming practice for the region, but also because they aim to address both climate change and gender-based inequalities faced by women fa rmers.

The projects also deployed innovative solar-powered facilities at the three sites in Lilongwe,Salima and Mzimba. The projects were built by UN Women with a budget of $400,000 thanks to funding from the Korea Interna tional Cooperation Agency.

UN Women also partnered with local woman-owned business Thanthwe Farms to provide support to workers on the sites, with training on integra ting women into decision-making processes and on limate- resilient agriculture techniques, including crop diversification and water management.

A total of 2,427 women farmers who attended those trainings have gone on to utilise the skills to set up or grow their businesses. 

In Mzimba, the training inspired the women of the Umoza and Mpharayi Cooperatives to revise their methods for growing and packaging green peppers. After making those adjustments, the cooperative was able to secure business with a hotel in Mzuzu, the biggest city in northern Malawi.

“We benefited a lot in lea rming about climate-smart agriculture farming,” said Cecelia Lungu,the Mpharayi Cooperative’s vice chairperson. “Times are changing and we need to learn new technologies to increase our harvest yields.”