The Ministry of Agriculture is training frontline agriculture extension workers in Dowa to equip them with hands-on training aimed at transforming how farmers learn, adapt and thrive in their farming activities.
At the heart of this initiative is the establishment of 180 new Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) a unique “learning-by-doing” model where crops or livestock become the teachers. But the real story lies not in the number of schools, but in the human resource behind them: the extension workers themselves.
“These are the people who turn policy into practice,” said Kenneth Chaula, Deputy Director in the Department of Agriculture Extension Services.
“They are the first line of contact for the farmer. If they’re not well-trained, our strategies for food security and agricultural commercialisation cannot succeed.”
The new FFSs are being rolled out under the Sustainable Agriculture Production Programme (SAPP II), funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to the tune of $53 million. The initiative targets 80,000 smallholder farming households in Dowa, Lilongwe, Mzimba, and Balaka.
According to Chaula, the field schools serve as open-air laboratories, where farmers learn to identify challenges and test context-specific solutions over the course of a crop or livestock lifecycle. But the Ministry is aware that for these schools to truly deliver, the mindset of extension workers must change.
“The training is helping us shift our approach,” said Grace Dayo, an extension officer from Malingunde EPA.
“We now understand that delivering technology is not enough. We must guide farmers through the decision-making process, and that requires a change in both our thinking and theirs.”
On his part, Wisdom Kanyezi, a livestock extension officer from Dowa, singled out a recurring issue.
“Many farmers still keep livestock for prestige rather than as a business asset. We’re learning how to break that mindset and introduce best practices in breeding, feeding and housing,” said Kanyezi.
In his remarks National trainer of Farmer Field Schools, Adam Kabango, called FFSs “a school without walls” where the classroom is the field, and the curriculum is built around real problems.
“It’s not about imposing knowledge,” he said, “but facilitating discovery.”
Currently, Malawi has more than 660 FFSs, but the distribution is uneven. The 180 new schools will not only expand geographic reach, but also focus on enterprises identified by farmers themselves, ensuring relevance and ownership.
Kabango said that the seven-year lifespan of each school allows farmers to master multiple technologies and see results over time a crucial factor in earning their trust and encouraging wider adoption.
He added that the three-week intensive training will combine both theory and practical sessions, with participants attending classes for one week at a time, followed by a one-week break before the next module.
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