Desolated Harvests: Onion Farmers in Malawi Struggle Amidst COVID-19
Covid-19 Measures in Malawi Affect the Income Sources of Agricultural Households
Doing the dirt - and more - for his family's survival, Kenson Mulapula is a passionate farmer hailing from Kapeni, a small area close to Malawi's commercial hub, Blantyre. For him, farming is life; it's how he ensures his family is well-fed, and how he strives for a better future.
Mulapula's farming endeavors have consistently sustained his family, making them food-secure through the year. In addition, he has built a comfortable house, to the standards of the Malawian village, using his farming earnings. This 55-year-old father of four, who has never held a formal job, owes his livelihood to his fields. Besides cultivating the staple, he also indulges in small-scale commercial farming of onions and tomatoes, fetching him around MK400,000 ($570) annually.
This season, with dreams of investing in a water pump and a concrete water tank, the ambitious farmer expanded his onion farm to half an acre. He was all set to reap richer rewards than ever before, as this year's harvest showed better quality and size. Yet, the thought of a lucrative return on his investment seemed like a distant dream as the market collapsed.
School closures, and the subsequent crumbling of fast-food restaurants and college cafeterias, have left onion farmers in a predicament. Commodity prices have plunged from MK400 ($0.55) per bucket to an all-time low of MK50 ($0.07), resulting in a staggering 80% loss in value. With fewer buyers around, Mulapula and others are at a loss as to how to manage their surplus onions.
"I am utterly disheartened by the downward spiral of onion prices," Mulapula laments. "This has never happened before. With schools closed and essential services scaling back, the demand for onions has drastically decreased, leaving me - and many like me - in despair."
Joining hands with dozens of fellow farmers, he questions the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives and aspirations. They had never anticipated that the pandemic would steer their dreams and expectations astray, leaving them with no feasible means to recover their investment.
Another onion farmer, Lonny Thomuson, laments that the low commodity prices have shattered their hopes of acquiring basic necessities like clothes and school supplies for their children. As a divorced mother of three, she shoulders the burden of feeding her family of five.
Unable to sell the onions, she "feels trapped, unable to repay the loans she took to buy the farming inputs like fertilizers."
Beyond the Farmlands: Widespread Hardships
The COVID-19 pandemic is not exclusive to the farmlands. Even sections of the working class endure its repercussions. Mathews Mususa, a secondary school teacher in the private sector, has not received his salary for two months due to the school closure. His employers confess they can't meet their financial obligations, as their institution relies heavily on tuition fees for their operations and salaries.
"Since the schools were shut down in mid-March due to COVID-19 preventive measures, I have only received my March salary," mourns the teacher, "but for the next few months, I have not been paid up to now."
Students too suffer due to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time the school classes were put on hold, national primary school leaving exams were about to be administered. Charity M'bawa, one of the primary school-leaving certificate candidates, is disillusioned regarding the uncertain future of her education.
"I had been working hard, knowing I had exams in March, but now four months into the COVID-19 suspension, I have no idea when the classes will resume, let alone sit for the final exams."
Transportation challenges have also ensued due to lockdown measures. In a country where most people depend on public transport to commute, several changes were made to curb the pandemic, such as reducing the number of passengers per seat and raising transport fares.
Commuter minibus owners had to compensate for the loss of passengers by raising transport fares, causing additional financial strain on the passengers. Nellie Kapinga, a shop assistant in Blantyre, suffers the brunt of these rising costs, as she commutes daily to and from work. She fears she might lose her job due to reduced sales in the last two months.
With few economic cushions to support the majority of Malawians who live below the poverty line, the adverse impacts of COVID-19 are likely to aggravate their already precarious situations.
Rise of the Pandemic: An Alarming Spike in Cases
Currently, Malawi has reported 5,701 COVID-19 cases, with 178 deaths. The number of cases escalated rapidly in recent months, surging from about a hundred in April. According to health experts, this surge was largely attributable to the misinformation exacerbated by the political tension following a court ruling that nullified the 2019 presidential elections' results and mandated a fresh poll within 150 days[1].
Political campaign meetings and rallies continued, largely ignoring preventive measures. Consequently, the virus found fertile ground for expansion, reaching over 2000 infected individuals by the time the political activities wound down in late June. Among the deceased in Malawi due to COVID-19 is a lawmaker, Cornelius Mwalwanda, who succumbed to the virus in July.
However, lately, there has been a heightened awareness of COVID-19 and an increase in preventive measure adherence by the public. The majority of offices, shops, and markets now provide handwashing facilities, and the citizens are increasingly seen wearing face masks in public places.
The new president, Lazarus Chakwera, who won the elections under a coalition, has pledged to take every measure to control the spread of the disease. Recently, the government mandated wearing face masks at all public places, in an effort to slow the spread of the tragic virus.
Despite the surge in cases and the increasing awareness, the pandemic is poised to cause significant economic losses across Africa. According to the Economic Commission for Africa, economies could shrink by 2.3 percent[2]. The World Food Programme has issued warnings about a potential food crisis, as the number of malnourished individuals could double, with over half of them residing in Sub-Saharan Africa[3].
All that Kenson Mulapula hopes for now is for the pandemic to abate, allowing the country's economy to revive and restore the farmers' livelihoods after the devastating pandemic.
[1] Malawi's President Peter Mutharika to face court challenge over plans for emergency lockdownhttps://www.independent.co.uk/world-news/africa/malawi-peter-lockdown-challenge-court-hrdc-coronavirus-2020-11582729.html[2] Malawi Extends Export Ban on Maize Until 2025https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201013-malawi-extends-export-ban-on-maize-until-2025[3] COVID-19 Could Cause One of the Worst Food Crises Since World War II, UN Warnshttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/covid-19-could-cause-one-of-the-worst-food-crises-since-world-war-ii-un-warns/ar-BB1c31G1[4] Dissecting Malawi food security: An analytical narrationhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/347303069_Dissecting_Malawi_food_security_An_analytical_narration[5] COVID-19 and small-scale farmer pensioner workers in Ireland - The need for social protectionhttps://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/1/7/htm[6] Africa’s small farmers are key to continuous food securityhttps://www.un.org/development/desa/agriculture/en/2019/01/23/africas-small-farmers-are-key-to-continuous-food-security
- Despite Kenson Mulapula's success in cultivating onions and tomatoes for his family's business, the collapse of the market due to COVID-19 has left him and other farmers struggling to manage their surplus produce and recover investments.
- The economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not limited to the farmlands. Workers in different sectors, such as Mathews Mususa who works in the private education sector and has not received his salary for the past two months, are also facing financial difficulties due to the pandemic's effects.
