Research Articles Producing more with less: transforming mixed farming systems in Malawi through systems science

Women in Mzimba South and Kasungu Districts emphasize the need for manure to restore soil fertility, but many lack access due to limited capital and poorly developed markets. Farmers often sell crops prematurely to meet urgent financial needs, further exacerbating productivity issues.  

Farmers shared their experience of vendors coming to their doorstep, offering low prices for maize and other commodities. Desperate for cash to meet immediate needs, farmers sell at the low prices. These exploitative marketing practices significantly hinder farmers’ abilities to benefit from diverse intensification methods.  

“Vendors are based in the village, some come from outside, they buy at very low prices. The markets are seasonal; most sales are directly after harvest. A few vendors buy later in the year. Those vendors knock on our door, and we open, we sell to them at very low prices.” - Woman farmer in Kasungu District

On other hand, young men face a discouraging challenge of limited land, making it difficult for them to accumulate assets and move beyond mere food security to actively participating in markets. Direct engagement with these young individuals, focusing on improving soil health and accessing better markets can address several of their constraints simultaneously, enhancing for more sustainable and prosperous farming practices. 

Traditionally, agricultural research in Malawi has focused on linear methods, emphasizing individual technical components and overlooking the interconnectedness of farming systems. This has often meant prioritizing inorganic fertilizers and maize grain yields, leading to reduced crop diversity and missed opportunities for improving soil health. This narrow focus has fragmented efforts to enhance farming systems and neglected the important role of livestock in the rural economy. 

The expansion of crop farming into grazing areas has reduced fodder resources for livestock. Efforts towards soil and water conservation have prioritized practices like mulching and vetiver grass, often ignoring the potential to improve livestock feed quality. Crop breeders have concentrated on developing traits such as early maturity, drought tolerance, and pest resistance, but the feed requirements of livestock have been largely overlooked. 

Furthermore, information has typically been disseminated through one-way channels, mainly from extension systems, often benefiting compliant and well-off farmers. This approach has failed to integrate research-based innovations with indigenous farmer knowledge and the diverse realities of rural communities. This can also exclude women from sustainable practices and exacerbate gender inequality, as women face impacts of land degradation and climate change most directly.  

Supporting more productive farming systems in Malawi requires a creative approach and providing farmers with essential information. A holistic and integrated approach to agricultural research and support is required to address these issues. The goal of the CGIAR Initiative on Mixed Farming Systems (MFS) is to empower farmers to use their limited resources effectively, ensuring sustainable agricultural livelihoods while addressing soil degradation, climate change, and poverty. 

“For research, this means representing improving livelihood, incomes, and social equity outcomes and relationships as a point of departure and not later as hindsight. It would require sufficient social science and knowledge expertise to redirect to the bigger objectives of Sustainable Development Goals, livelihoods, and equity. Mixed farming systems (MFS) should provide space to understand gender dynamics better and for women to experiment in more productive enterprises and links to income.” - Katherine Snyder, Senior Scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute

Addressing the mentioned challenges requires a coordinated, multi-disciplinary effort involving breeders, soil scientists, agronomists, livestock developers, and social entrepreneurs to address both social and technical challenges, fostering sustainable intensification. This involves a holistic view of farm operations, ongoing experimentation, and informed decision-making to enhance livelihoods and promote environmental restoration. 

“Systems research helps to understand the nature of MFS functioning, and it can be adapted to different contexts and applied at various levels/ scales. Farm households must choose where to allocate their limited land, capital, labor, and resources, and this competition creates direct and indirect interactions. These interactions work towards multiple goals, incl. food security, income, climatic and market risk management, and preservation of contour boundaries. It's more than yield that matters.” (Santiago Lopez - Senior Scientist at CIMMYT and co-leader of MFS) 

MFS Malawi focuses on improving smallholder farmers' decisions by targeting maize-based systems vulnerable to climate change and small land sizes. Innovations co-designed with farmers integrate legumes into maize systems, enhancing nutrition, livestock feed quality, and soil health. Contextualized across diverse agroecological zones, these innovations aim to increase food and fodder quality per unit of cropland, benefiting men, women, and youth through improved resource management and sustainable farming practices. The integrated systems science approach in Malawi involves: 

• Cereal-legume diversification and integration: Co-designing strip cropping methods with farmers integrates legumes with maize, improving nutrition, soil fertility, and economic stability. Techniques like double-row and Mbili Mbili strip cropping provide immediate benefits in legume grain and biomass yields while maintaining maize productivity.  
• Multipurpose forages and integration with livestock: Introducing intercropping with dual-purpose crops like maize and groundnuts, as well as high-protein forages like Mucuna pruriens and Crotalaria, and Brachiaria as drought tolerant grass, address livestock productivity and soil erosion simultaneously. 
• Soil fertility management and agronomic biofortification: Efforts in soil fertility management and agronomic biofortification are critical for restoring degraded soils. Combining organic and inorganic fertilizers, along with conservation agriculture practices and contour bunds, helps rehabilitate degraded soils, improve water infiltration, and sustain soil health. 
• Gender-responsive innovations: Empowering women and youth through on-farm experiments and community involvement address gender disparities, solutions enhance their ability to access resources and markets, promoting gender equality and sustainable farming intensification.