THE ROLE OF BUNDA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE IN THE POST HARVEST SECTOR IN
MALAWI
By
AGNES MBACHI MWANGWELA
Lecturer in Food Science
Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi
A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE FAO-GFAR GLOBAL INITIATIVE FOR POSTHARVEST
TECHNOLOGY MEETING. ENTEBE UGANDA 17-19
SEPTEMBER 2001.
FROM QUANTITY TO QUALITY
INTRODUCTION
Malawi is a small
country of 12.3 million hectares with a population of 10 million, 85% of which
live in rural areas where subsistence farming is the main way of earning a
living. Malawi's productive capacity is limited and concentrated within a few
sectors. Agriculture is the largest
economic sector, while the industrial base remains limited and consists mainly
of agro-processing industries.
Agriculture accounts for one-third of GDP, 90 per cent of export
earnings, and three-quarters of total employment. The smallholder sub-sector
occupies 1.8 million hectares, over one-half of the households have less than
one hectare, and one-quarter less than 0.5 hectare. Only one-third of these
farmers use fertiliser, most use less prolific local seed, and productivity
among smallholder farmers is generally low. The majority of households are
unable to meet their food requirements.
Currently the non-formal sector employs 85.5 per cent of the labour
force, out of which 81 per cent is in smallholder agriculture and only 4.6 per
cent in non-agriculture related self-employment. Maize is the dominant
subsistence crop and covers 80 per cent of all cultivated land (UNDP Malawi
Profile, 2001). In addition to maize
other food crops include roots and tubers (cassava, potatoes), grains and
legumes (rice sorghum, millets, beans, cowpeas, Soya, Ground nuts) fruits and
vegetables (mangoes, bananas, oranges, avocados, peaches, tomatoes and many
others). Most of these crops are
produced on small scale and in specific areas of the country.
Bunda College of
Agriculture was established in the late 1960s as an institution of higher
learning for agricultural officers.
There are several departments at the college which tackle post harvest
issues, and these are Home Economics
and Human Nutrition , Agricultural engineering and Animal science. Several courses are offered in these
departments that address post harvest issues.
In addition several research projects in the post harvest sector are
underway.
The post harvest sector
in Malawi is very crucial in ensuring food security in Malawi where over 90%
percent of the food supply is produced in the rural areas of the country under
the rain fed system. Such that there is
one major harvest in the year which has to cater for the food needs of both the
urban and rural areas through out the year.
There are several challenges
being faced in the post harvest sector in Malawi. Although few detailed studies on post harvest loss have been
conducted, about 30% loss in hybrid
maize stored for 8 months has been reported (Phiri et al 1997). The loss in fruits and vegetables may be as high as 50% during the peak season. These losses are mainly due to lack of
proper transportation and storage structures.
Post harvest techniques
are crucial to the welfare of poor rural people because of their effects on
income distribution and employment in addition to decreasing food losses
(Greeley 1990). Small holder farmers
producing the bulk of the food crops sell them in the raw form at very low
prices. However provided appropriate
technology farmers would be able to increase their income from their products
as well as create employment within their communities.
Post harvest programmes/initiatives at Bunda College of Agriculture
As an agricultural institution of higher learning Bunda College is
involved in teaching, research and consultancy. There are several projects dealing with post harvest issues which
are underway at the college.
The crop has been
produced for a long time in Malawi as
early as the 70s, however it was towards the end of the 1980’s that the
production of Soya beans picked up. In
1989 Soya bean was substituted for common beans and ground nuts in Likuni
Phala (Ministry of Health 1992). Likuni
phala is the flour that is used as a weaning food mainly comprising of maize
and legumes in differing proportions.
Despite being widely incorporated in Likuni Phala, utilization of
Soya beans has been limited in the
basic diet of most Malawians. Attempts
have been made to promote the utilization of Soya beans at household level by
various interests groups including UNICEF, Ministry of Agriculture, University
of Malawi (Bunda College of Agriculture) and the Ministry of Health (FAO/MOALD
1997). Much of this promotional work
was targeted at small holder farmers who are the major producers of Soya beans. These farmers were growing Soya beans as cash crop. However the majority of the people in the
rural areas are at an increased risk in terms of Protein energy
malnutrition. The drive behind this
promotional efforts was the potential of Soya beans in improving the nutrient
value of the predominantly maize based Malawian diet. Students are in taught the processing of Soya beans into products
that can be easily incorporated in the Malawian diet. In addition several non governmental organizations dealing with
food security send their extension workers for training in Soya bean
processing.
In addition UNIDO through the SEPIA project is also promoting the
utilisation of Soya beans by training Micro Small and Medium Scale enterprises
in soya bean processing. These MSMEs
have been trained in Soya bean processing and are awaiting training in food
safety and quality assurance.
Bunda College in
corroboration with UNICEF embarked on promotion of a sunflower oil extractor among
women groups in rural areas. Women
groups operated a ram press as an income generating activity but due to stiff
competition in the procurement of raw materials and selling of the oil the
project could not be sustainable (Chiyembekeza 1996).
Despite the fact that
there is a lot of spoilage of fruits and vegetables during peak production minimal work has been done
to harness this opportunity. However
the Agricultural Engineering department at Bunda has developed a Ram juice
extractor for citrus fruits and pineapples.
The technology is currently being promoted the Malawi Industrial
Research and Technology development Centre (MIRTDC).
Charcoal and brick coolers have been developed to address the need for
storage of fruits and vegetables. This
technology assist in increasing the storage life of fresh fruits
vegetables. In addition a solar drier
has been tried for drying vegetables.
Although dried fruits are not a common item on the market there is
potential for drying mangoes and bananas which are usually wasted in peak
months.
Through the Small grant
programme funded by IITA and Sarrnet, Bunda College is involved post harvest
research for cassava. The project is
aimed at promoting commercial processing of cassava. The work include a consumer study, proximate analysis, shelf life
studies and preference.
Currently shelf life
study of the cassava flour and the secondary raw materials is underway. Information on the shelf life of cassava
products will assist the interested
processors in the production and marketing of their product.. Currently one of the main grain millers has
started buying dried cassava chips from farmers and processing into flour which
has just been launched on the market.
Food safety and quality issues are now gaining more attention among
consumers. Therefore students are
exposed to the prevailing food safety issues in the country. Information on the status of food safety and
quality in Malawi is very scanty.
Concerns on food safety and quality are not properly documented at
all.
a. The Master of Science degree programme
in Food Science and Human Nutrition at Bunda is facing high financial
difficulties in that most potential students are unable to source funding for
their studies. Funding for research in
the area of food processing is minimal because most of the funding organisations
prefers other areas directed at increasing food production other than post
harvest issues.
b. Some of the
technologies that have been developed or adopted at Bunda College of
Agriculture have not successfully been adopted by the targeted end users. This apparent failure in adoption is partially
due to:
i.
Promotion campaigns for these technologies
were dependent on funding of a particular project
ii.
Some of the targeted end users lack
financial resources to purchase of appropriate machines
c.
Partnership between researchers at the
College and the industry has
been a problem. At the moment
there is one grain miller who is working with us on cassava processing.
d.
Access to information on Post harvest
issues is limited. New developments in
the sector are difficult to access due to limited financial resources.
e. While
there are several projects taking place at the college there is limited space
for work. The design and stocking of
sheds or laboratories at the college does not accommodate post harvest work
properly. There is need for a pilot
plant or shed where students and staff can work properly and interested MSMEs
cn test new technologies.
Chiyembekeza, A.J.
1996. Vegetable Oil/protein sub-sector
for Malawi:
Status
Report. Chitedze Research station, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Greeley, M. 1990. Postharvest Technologies: Implications
for Food Policy
Analysis. The World Bank. The Washington, D.C.
Phiri L., Chigwengwe S. and Ngwira, O.C. 1997.
Shire Valley Agricultural
Development
Division paper on Post Harvest Handling, Processing, Utilization and Nutrition
.