Research

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Livelihoods Analysis of Tiyeni Activities (2015)

Photo credit: Alan Dixon

We didn’t sell our surplus that we produced…we shared the produce, and everyone kept some as seed for next year. If there is any surplus produced we give it to the orphans, the needy or the disabled.

Smallholder farmer, Choma village, northern Malawi

A rapid livelihood assessment by Professor Alan Dixon explored Tiyeni’s contribution to building sustainable livelihoods in northern Malawi. The assessment aimed to develop a more holistic understanding of Tiyeni’s impacts on the lives of smallholder farmers, examining how increased crop yields in turn contribute to wider social, economic, and environmental benefits. The report highlighted the need to consider the wider livelihood context in which Deep Bed Farming operates, and how this can help achieve Malawi’s poverty reduction and development goals. Drawing on DFID’s Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, and with reference to its five livelihood outcomes, the assessment suggested the following:

• Do Tiyeni beneficiaries have more income?
  Yes, in many cases. Deep Bed Farming is producing higher crop yields. While most of the maize is directly consumed by farmers, crops that are rotated with maize are being sold for profit in many cases.
  
  
• Do Tiyeni beneficiaries experience increased well-being?
  Yes, to some extent. Farmers are achieving improvements to food supply, nutrition, school, and social and human capital through their engagement with Tiyeni.

• Do Tiyeni beneficiaries experience reduced vulnerability?
  Yes, to some extent. Deep Bed Farming’s climate-smart practices have made communities more resilient to unpredictable weather. This resilience increases food security, which in turn improves resilience to illness. Resilience is also improved by the farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange facilitated by Tiyeni, which builds communities’ adaptive capacities.

• Do Tiyeni beneficiaries experience improved food security?
  Yes. Evidence strongly points to Deep Bed Farming producing greater crop yields. While farmers may still face intermittent food shortages, they experience significantly less vulnerability to food insecurity as a result of Tiyeni’s interventions.
  
  
• Does engagement with Tiyeni lead to the more sustainable use of the natural resource base?
  Probably. Deep Bed Farming is at its core designed to reverse the environmental degradation associated with common conventional agricultural practices. Crucially, farmers are improving their own skills and awareness of environmental sustainability through the training they receive from Tiyeni and their adoption of Deep Bed Farming.

Overall, evidence points to Tiyeni’s work being highly impactful on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers by contributing to their social, economic, and environmental wellbeing and augmenting their resilience and adaptive capacity. This rapid assessment also demonstrates the need for more in-depth research on the context and impact of Tiyeni’s work, which the article noted the Team field team to be taking action on. ​Professor Dixon also made the following recommendations to enhance Tiyeni’s work, many of which Tiyeni has now implemented:

• more crop diversification
• formalise agroforestry into Lead Farmer training
• assist farmers with dambo (wetland) cultivation
• produce extension materials (e.g., t-shirts, handbook)
• facilitate site ‘exchange’ visits for Lead Farmers in different areas
• run large-scale extension workshops for farmers, government agricultural staff, and NGOs
• implement more robust monitoring and evaluation systems
• respond to farmers’ requests for necessary equipment
• engage in more collaboration with a range of institutions (e.g., universities, NGOs, government bodies)

​​​ ​Read the full report here.