Farmers in the Balaka district report that they are benefiting from the Innovation Platform committee. Through this platform, farmers share ideas shared among themselves best practices in farming.
This was testified by the farmers themselves on 28 January 2014 when delegates from the European Union/International Fund for Agricultural Development (EU/IFAD) visited the Innovation Platform members in the district to review how the committee is operating.
Janet Mingu, a member and a lead farmer in the area of senior chief Sawali, said she that she has managed to pay for her daughters secondary education through farming and now she is taking farming as business.
One of the delegates from the EU, Henrik Egelyng, said that besides having famers as key players, the IP committee ought to farm produce consumers, farm input suppliers and other players.
“Its it very impressive that the committee has the key players who are farmers input suppliers and others but the consumer is also important because he or she is the one the farmers produce for”,said Egelyng.
Egelyng also said He that the inclusion of consumers in the committee is crucial as it can help boost the productivity of the farmers.
