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Abstract:
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Agriculture remains the mainstay of Malawi's economy contributing about:
(a) 40% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
(b) 87% of the total employment,
(c) more than 90% of the foreign exchange earnings and
(d) supplies more than 65% of the manufacturing sector's raw materials.
The food self-sufficiency policy has therefore guided almost all major agricultural programmes, strategies and action plans. Despite these efforts, in 2006, the government noted that poverty remains widespread and severe while food insecurity and land degradation have worsened.
This study was conducted to investigate factors that influence farmers to cultivate along the river banks in Salima District, in the Central Region of Malawi. Using logit analysis the study revealed that the following parameters were important in influencing the farmers to engage in river bank cultivation.
(a) household size,
(b) main occupation,
(c) education market availability and
(d) land holding size.
Basing on these results it has therefore been suggested that since these farmers cultivate along the river banks without conserving the soils, a livelihood approach must be adopted. This approach will enable farmers to sustainably derive their livelihoods from the land which supports their livelihood without degrading the environment.
The results have shown that the following factors influence people to engage in river bank cultivation:
(a) house hold size,
(b) level of education,
(c) land holding size,
(d) market availability and
(e) main occupation
River bank cultivation is likely to cause siltation due to erosion. Siltation is also likely to negatively affect production and breeding of some fish species such as mpasa, Opsaridium microlepis which migrates from Lake Malawi to Linthipe River for breeding and which require clean gravel substrate for spawning.
It is important therefore, that policies to curb problems associated with riverbank cultivation should take a livelihoods approach that considers household size, land holding, markets and occupation of members of the community as well as environmental degradation.
In Malawi, river banks are the most vulnerable land areas and have long been cultivated due to fertility from sediments deposited by regular flooding. |