GCF approves US$52M funding to support food production, climate resilience in Malawi

MALAWI- The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a US$52.3 million funding for the Ecosystems-based Adaptation for Resilient Watersheds and Communities in Malawi (EbAM) project meant to combat climate change and improve food production in the country. 

 Although funded by GCF (the biggest climate fund in the world), the Project is led and fully implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

EbAM targets 575,000 vulnerable people living in Rural Malawi over the next five years. The Project will deliver investments in terms of climate-smart and efficient technologies, extension services, training and financing to farmers. 

The Project is also intended to enhance the resilience of farms and watersheds, which especially need ecosystem-centric approaches as well as water and soil management to enhance food production and mitigate the effects of climate change. 

Through this ecosystem-based, sustainable resource management approach, the Project aims to restore more than 83,000 hectares of farmland. 

According to FAO, local communities will be implored to develop village-level action plans (VLAP) that will manage water and soil resources at the communal level. They will also receive high-quality seeds and other propagation materials. 

Members of local communities will be trained through Farmer Field Schools in sustainable agricultural practices through technology adaptation, promoting biodiversity, growing drought-resistant crops and minimizing greenhouse emmissions. 

Financing and market access will be facilitated via deliberate funding and strengthening of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA), establishing valuable public-private partnerships and capacity building for SMEs.  

The government welcomed the move, expressing confidence that the Project would help improve food security in Malawi. 

Sam Dalitso Kawale, Malawi’s Minister of Agriculture, said, “Today marks a historic moment for Malawi’s agricultural sector. The investment will increase the resilience of our rural communities at watershed and farm level, where good water and soil management are crucial to sustainable agricultural production.” 

According to ReliefWeb response, 5.7 million people in Malawi are acutely food insecure. They require US$35.5 million in funding every six months to mitigate impacts, albeit in the short term. The move is expected to significantly contribute to the long-term mitigation of climate change.  

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