Mkanga

Mkanga Tinasankha kupanga ulimu waziweto komanso mbewu. Aliyese atha kukhala mulimi🐐🚜🌱🐷🥭
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Khumbo lathu ndikuphunzira zambiri za ulimi komanso kuphunzitsa ndi kulimbikitsa ena, maka achinyamata, kuyamba ulimi.

20/08/2026

Dear Aspiring Farmer,

Three months ago, a 50kg of maize was selling at MK25, 000 and onion was raking millions. Today, maize prices are soaring by day and onion is the cheapest on the market.

At the time when maize was cheap, agriculture scaremongers were out of town labelling maize kuti siulimi. If one needed to do maize winter cropping and succumbed to the noise, they are probably regretting that because without a doubt, the grain hasn’t hit the market high yet. Anasunga chimanga apata ndithu.

And what are the agriculture scaremongers talking about now? Onion and tomatoes. But just blink and before you open your eyes it will be December and January ndipo zisanduka golide izizi. If you choose to be discouraged by their scaremongers noise, shawuriyanu imeneyo.

This is not to dismiss how all this affects farmers because everyone wants to quickly sell their produce after harvesting. But is this the case in Malawi?

Agriculture markets in Malawi are unstructured. Perhaps I am being economic with words, our markets are chaotic and so is our production, both in livestock and crops. This can be a curse and a blessing at the same time. And I doubt there is comprehensive literature that can guide a person on how to navigate our chaos.

Here is a classic example: if you would like to access some funding for agriculture a question of whether you already have a market arises. When you try to identify the market for a produce you dont have yet, the prospective buyer says kalimeni or kaweteni kaye and you can come back and we will discuss.

Of course, there are instances where this works perfectly – there are less noisy farmers supplying great stuff in our supermarkets and beyond through structured markets agreements. And zikutheka, koma sikwambiri.

What must a farmer do then? Behave like a gambler.

After you have mastered the science of production and productivity, begin to study and read the markets and mass production pattern. Apapa pangofunika kuyiwerenga game magaye and do not let the noise from self appointed mashasha a ulimi pa social media distract you. Run your race.

There is a blessing in a chaos of agriculture markets in Malawi and calls for patience and strategic decisions. Guess, there will be days when you will get them right and wrong could also be your landing strip.

19/08/2026

Dear Aspiring Farmer,

Remember in secondary school we had friends that were on bursary programme? Unless otherwise, they never missed classes because their tuition was always sorted and for the intelligent ones, anali ma guys oti amakhonza nkalasi heavy.

Enafe grace week ikatha nkhawa bi, we were being sent home if our folks had not made partial fees payment. Nkati mwandime, kumazakhalaso fees balance and either amatithamangitsa or we were threatened kuti we will not write exams. Psychologically, this was very damaging.

I would want you to look or consider farming whilst you are still working. Your salary should be a bursary fund for your start up and you will have a higher chance of succeeding.

You see, we have all agreed that farming is never cheap and for start up, its even more costly because you would be getting the basics to get going and chances are your first ventures would flop hence needing continuous injection of funds into your farming adventure.

One would argue kuti aaaagh ndiye farming-yo si business yabwinotu. Nanga uzingolowetsa cash?

Here is the thing, farming is not only the practice of growing crops and rearing animals, you also need to understand the science and the art of doing it. Marketing is key as well because it doesn’t end at production.

Now you will agree with me that very few of us were born with these skills and even if we were, we would need a period of discovering them. Some of these skills we would have to learn from other people that have been in the trade for long. And the best learning is through practice and not just reading books or one side YouTube videos.

Dont make a mistake of thinking that it will just be a transition that you jump off the job boat into farming and before people realise it you will have hundreds of goats, chickens, pigs and cattle etc. There is a period of learning. Seasons of bitter lessons. Farming has these instore for you and you may not escape them.

So, start now whilst you have that job and have the energy to push and absorb setbacks. Starting farming in our later years, mudzagwa ndi BP and mudzawona ngati ulimi ulibe phindu.

18/08/2026

Another of our family which is growing steadily ndi nkhunda. Less effort koma numbers are adding ndithu.

We have 100+ now🕊🕊

18/08/2026

Truth is, we may not be able to harvest as seed manufacturing companies say we will. Komanso mbuzi, nkhosa ndi nkhumba zija sikuti ziswa mmene Google akunenera iyayi. Why? Creating an ideal situation in farming is not easy.

However what I am finding problematic though is the framing so people are championing on social media. Iyayi amangwetu, we shouldnt be scare-mongers. We can say the truth without necessarily being negative about people's aspirations and dreams.

The fact that you didn't hit the milestone doesnt necessarily mean no one else can. In that excitement, some people jump in and learn better and become mashasha.

Chilungamo ndichabwino koma osawopyseza anthu.

Been in farming for over five years now. It is attractive from outside, but very strenuous and stressful when you step i...
17/08/2026

Been in farming for over five years now. It is attractive from outside, but very strenuous and stressful when you step in. Banja limatha chifukwa cha ulimi hahahaha

Overtime, it becomes a way of life just like managing a family is. And you enjoy the ups and downs!

Something though, proper farming is capital intensive. Ulimi siwotchipa ma guy.

And to get going, you need more money for feed, huge capital to drill boreholes and set irrigation system, more money to buy quality stock and inputs and the list goes on.

Considering that this game doesn’t give quick returns many times, avoid too smarter people as your advisors if you want to push your money is farming ventures and succeed.

If you can, avoid self appointed business commentators, market analysts economic and financial gurus. There are great ones out there, but a majority ndi a theory and they cant start or even run their business – ndiye bwezi PTC itafa?

There is this advice out there and we all seem to have agreed with it; osakatenga ngongole ku bank kuyika mu ulimi. And without consulting anybody, inuyo ndi bae mumapelekezana kupita ku bank komweko to sign papers so you buy another car.

Galimoto langongole limene mumaligoneka panja panyumba or kuliyimika panja pa office yanu.

In my Tonga Native Language we ask, pe zeru penipo (Is there any wisdom in this)? My point is you can afford repaying a loan for a car, ku ulimi ukuku nakoso I think you can. Tayesani tione.

As Mkanga, at some point I saw it that I couldn’t afford water pumps, solar panels and everything that needed to come with setting up a basic irrigation system. What did I do? I went to the bank and got the loan. Lowered all my standards and been servicing that loan for the past three years.

Has it been easy? No. But see where Mkanga is today. If you are 35 today and are afraid kutenga ngongole kuyika mu ulimi because experts say so and hope that you will raise substantial money with your 8 to 5. Wait until you hit 40 and you see a multitude of insecurities and impossibilities running in your head.

Dont believe everything you hear. You were born different komanso life has no formula amangwetu.

Remember the forest we have been protecting since 2019? The time is here now. Chuma chobisika ichichi. A few scholars I ...
16/08/2026

Remember the forest we have been protecting since 2019? The time is here now. Chuma chobisika ichichi.

A few scholars I know are not publishing more papers now, they are buying land for farming.

Akumaimba ndipo tikukambirana zakawetedwe kankhumba, mbuzi, anyezi tingadzale bwanji, zipangizo tingagule kuti ndizina zambiri.

Musachedwe, yambani lero

14/08/2026

Hands-on vocational skills are a plus in farming

If you aspire to end up in farming someday, these hands-on vocational skills are a necessity. If you can, develop them with time. Expose to these ngati kape but they will save you a lot.

Izizi tikunena kwa ifeyo who are starting from ground zero and capital yathu ndiyodoba-doba, having these skills not only saves you money but challenges you team to thing differently and another level and you attract people that add value to what you do unline passengers that just need wages.

Ukakhala kuti suzisata, amakubela, kukunamiza and deliver shoddy work for you. Koma ukakhala kuti zawu electrician izi umazisata, irrigation engineering ilimo, carpentry and joinery umaswa, komaso zomanga-manga izi square ijayo umayisata. Ndiwe dolo ma guy.

Ndiyeno, only if you can, some weekend, substitute kokadya nyama with kukacheza pa carpentry shop penapake or mukapita kokayendera project ku plot ask as many question and taka-taka yama builders yambani kuyisata. Ndizophweka.

Mwanthawi zonse, yolembedwa ndiyabwino kwambiri, koma osayigonekera nkhosi ili ndimalire iyiyi. Pangani zanu!

If you, try planting Neptune F1 Onion. The seed is expensive and scarce, but the harvest is bumper. Uyuyu ndi katundu wa...
13/08/2026

If you, try planting Neptune F1 Onion. The seed is expensive and scarce, but the harvest is bumper.

Uyuyu ndi katundu wa anyezi. BTW, amacha msanga and very resilient. Muyeseni.


12/08/2026

There is wisdom in starting small

Many of us admire big things. Big houses, big cars, huge business and of course who doesn’t want a big farm with tractors, drones, cattle in thousands, sheep too many to count, goats everywhere, pigs and chickens all over the place.

However, with farming, if you haven’t done it before, there is wisdom in starting small. Venture with the little you have and start where you are. A small mistake in farming can be irreversible and crash the whole investment. So, imagine if you went all in?

So as a beginner, start small but with a gigantic vision – that which even scares your brain. Learn the trade, begin to invest more with time while you are understanding how it operates.

Understand how you can be more productive, the competition that exists, how does the market work, the ups and downs of the investment, when is the right time to grow or rear what and what skill sets do you need to achieve that.

Let’s take piggery for instance, very lucrative yeah? However, it is a high investment venture and very delicate. You can start so well and mid way, you realise you didn’t stock enough maize, bran and low-fat soy. Then you get to be forced to sell them because you have no option.

Ndiye vendor akadziwa kuti uli desperate, he will tell you all sorts of issues and buy your produce for nothing. And examples are way too many, tomatoes, onion, broiler chickens etc.

Koma chilungamo ndichakuti iyi yolembedwa, na ngati uli ndi abwana, aaaaagh osayigonekela nkhosi imadzidzimutsa amangwetu. Osazatuluka thukuta nkamwa akanena kuti restructuring or non renewal of contract notification because you already started doing something. And farming can be that thing.


11/08/2026

Ku Mkanga ukuku. Ulimi tawugwira pankhosi hahahaha. We are doing it differently and in an ambitious way.

Nanunso. Inuyo makaka hahahaha. Mwina agwedezeni a bae kuti tawona ukuku komanso akuti mbewu iliko.

Tiyeni tichite izizi, ndizotheka amangwetu.


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