Rural Livelihoods Support Programme

Most small-scale farmers in three rural districts in the southern-most part of Malawi do not have enough land to meet their food requirements. Four out of five households have no food security for at least three to four months a year. Fluctuations in rainfall and in availability of household labour make them even more vulnerable to food shortages.

The aim of the programme is to improve villagers’ access to resources, such as land, water, farm inputs and farming services, and to ensure more efficient use of these resources. It is designed to:

• empower villagers to organize themselves and their production in a more effective way
• improve the way service providers respond to villagers’ needs
• reduce the hunger gap and improve dietary and nutritional status by investing in production and income-generating activities.
• help keep villagers better informed about market and agricultural information

The programme supports Malawi’s decentralization policy, working with the decentralized institutions that are emerging in the villages and with local ministry line staff, who play a key role as service providers. It promotes the active participation of all groups in village-level processes, particularly the poorest groups, including landless people, households headed by women and families affected by HIV/AIDS.