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Good practice Imported

Total LandCare–CIMMYT Conservation Agriculture Partnership — Nkhotakota, Malawi

Malawi · Nkhotakota · See the Malawi profile

Evidence: Quasi-experimental Top 40% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

A CIMMYT–Total LandCare partnership begun in 2005 with just 12 pilot farmers in Nkhotakota district has scaled to over half of farmers practising conservation agriculture in some areas, with peer-reviewed evidence of improved soil moisture and structure.

12
Original pilot farmers (2005)
>57%
Farmers practising conservation agriculture in Mwansambo
10% of 300 farmers surveyed
Farmers who had adopted all three core CA principles (2014)
~40%
Farmers who later dropped some or all practices
Total LandCare–CIMMYT Conservation Agriculture Partnership — Nkhotakota, Malawi

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Total LandCare, with CIMMYT
Period
2005-present
Keywords
agriculture, soil and water conservation, smallholder livelihoods, climate resilience

Context

In 2005, Malawian NGO Total LandCare (TLC) began working with CIMMYT (the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) to introduce conservation agriculture — minimum tillage, permanent soil cover with crop residues, and crop rotation or intercropping with legumes — to smallholder maize farmers in Nkhotakota district, starting with just six farmers each in two Extension Planning Areas.

Objectives

The partnership aimed to improve soil and moisture conditions for smallholder maize farming and to scale adoption of conservation-agriculture principles.

Activities

TLC and CIMMYT provided nearly two decades of continuous extension support, later expanding to other districts including Nsanje and Salima.

Results

A peer-reviewed study of conservation-agriculture systems in central Malawi found measurable improvements in soil structure and hydraulic properties compared with conventional ridge tillage, and CIMMYT-monitored trials found mulching from retained residues reduced evapotranspiration and conserved soil moisture, helping buffer maize yields under drought and heat stress. TLC reports that in areas such as Mwansambo, more than 57% of farmers now practise conservation agriculture.

Conclusions

Adoption has been uneven: a 2014 survey found only 10% of 300 surveyed farmers had adopted all three core principles, and a 2024 sentinel-site study (Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems) found around 40% of initially enrolled farmers eventually dropped some or all of the practices — a genuine evidenced soil/moisture benefit paired with real difficulty locking in full, sustained adoption at scale.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — No programme cost figures are reported in the reviewed sources.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Piloted with 12 farmers in 2005; over 57% adoption in Mwansambo by the mid-2020s after continuous extension support; expanded to additional districts.
Staffing & skills
Total LandCare (TLC, Malawian NGO, extension delivery), CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, technical partner), Smallholder farmers in Mwansambo, Zidyana, Nsanje and Salima Extension Planning Areas

Conditions for success

  • Sustained, multi-year extension support (nearly two decades) to build adoption
  • Farmer access to crop residues for permanent soil cover and legumes for rotation/intercropping
  • Continued NGO-research partnership to monitor and adapt the approach

Common failure modes

  • Only 10% of surveyed farmers had adopted all three core principles by 2014
  • A 2024 sentinel-site study found around 40% of initially enrolled farmers eventually dropped some or all practices

Where it fits

Governance type
NGO-led extension partnership with an international research centre
Scale
district-level, expanding (Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Salima)
Income level
low-income

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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