Access to land a problem for rural poor

As Malawi attempts to consolidate gains in agricultural production after three years of drought, experts have highlighted access to land and the preservation of biodiversity as key to future food security. International NGO Oxfam has warned that a lack of access to arable land had contributed to food shortages and was also heightening tensions, with land-hungry communities increasingly encroaching on forests and tea estates. Early last week a land dispute erupted in the Chimaliro traditional area in Thyolo district in the Southern region of the country. In 2001 the government bought land from the Makande Tea Estate, on which it settled 350 landless families from other parts of Thyolo district. This did not please some Chimaliro residents, who felt they should have been the first to benefit from a redistribution of land in their home area. A series of negotiations with district authorities broke down, culminating in the illegal occupation of the disputed land by some Chimaliro residents. Police said they arrested 15 people, who were subsequently charged with "encroachment". According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Food Security, Malawi has 9.4 million hectares of land, of which about 31 percent is suitable for the country's rain-fed agriculture, 31 percent is marginal land and 37 percent is unfit for cultivation. Malawi's 11.5 million people are largely dependent on agriculture. It is estimated that up to 2 million small-scale farming families hold between 1.8 and 2 million hectares of land, but 72 percent of them actually cultivate less than one hectare per family. On average, individual households have less than 0.5 hectares of land - not enough to feed a family. Oxfam programme officer George Chinseu, who is responsible for agriculture, fisheries, forests and food security in Thyolo and Mulanje districts, told IRIN that most people in the area could not produce sufficient food because they did not have enough land. "When you go around Thyolo and Mulanje districts, one can easily see the seriousness of the land shortage for the people. Many people have between 0.3 hectares and 0.5 hectares of land per household," Chinseu said. "From 0.3 hectares of land you do not expect to have enough food to feed the whole family," adding that "the land on which they grow crops is exhausted". "They cannot afford chemical fertiliser, and most of the food that they harvest just keeps them [going] for a period of two or three months, after which they start ... ganyu [piecework] on [commercial] estates, so they can survive," he said. But recent reports indicate that, due to dry spells in parts of Malawi, piecework has become more difficult to find. "We are encouraging farmers to use composite manure ... on the little land they have. Those with livestock are encouraged to make organic manure," Chinseu explained. Oxfam has been promoting livestock and beekeeping projects, as these activities could provide incomes for vulnerable families and enable them to purchase basic commodities. By contrast, in the midst of land hunger, Southern Malawi is home to the country's commercial tea estates. The National Coordinator of the Malawi Economic Justice and Network (MEJN), Collins Magalasi, said: "Most of the districts in the Southern region of the country are covered by big estates. It is not surprising to see people encroaching on these estates." A report released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2003 showed that over a million people had no land for agriculture, and that fewer than 23,000 owned over six hectares per household. "Malawi being a predominantly rural population, possession of agricultural land by households may in part explain why poor households with no reliable source of income or land are [often] not food secure," noted NSO statistician Peter Ndilowe. At a World Food Day event last week, Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha said the country's increasing population was putting pressure on its natural resources. Malawi has suffered a high level of deforestation - 2.8 percent per year, the highest in the region - and has recently begun intensive reforestation programmes. "As a country we need to protect our biodiversity if we are to ensure food security in our homes," Chilumpha said. He added that "while we embrace new varieties of crops and animals, Malawians should not abandon local varieties, because of their resistance to diseases and pests". Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative Louise Setshwaelo also called for preservation of the country's biodiversity. "Malawi, as many of the countries in this region, has a considerable amount of biodiversity in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Lake Malawi is well known, and recognised worldwide, for its large biodiversity," she said. This biodiversity was now "under threat". As a result, many rural families could not find a sufficient variety of nutritious food in their local markets, "or they are simply too poor to purchase them. Because of this, they must make the best use of indigenous plant varieties and animal breeds".