Women farmers in Malawi and Zambia fighting fall armyworm

Life as we once knew it is gone. The emergence and spread of COVID-19 has changed our everyday lives and disrupted food production and supply chains. The latest report by the Global Network Against Food Crises predicts that 265 million people in low- and middle-income countries will suffer from acute food insecurity by the end of 2020 unless rapid measures are taken. For African countries, this puts additional pressure on smallholders, who are responsible for 80 percent of the food produced, and especially on women, who provide the bulk of the agricultural labour force.

Dorothy Chalwe and Josephine Kombe, both of Kwamuyebe Village in Kawambwa District, Zambia, are among 42 women smallholders in the country participating in a research project, Developing Smallholder Strategies for Fall Armyworm Management in Southern Africa: Examining the Effectiveness of Ecological Control Options. The five-year project is funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and implemented by World Agroforestry (ICRAF) in partnership with the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute and Malawi’s Department of Agricultural Research Services.