Mzimba North District Agriculture Office says over 5,000 farmers will benefit from the Farmer Field Schools (FFS) under “Better” project which is being implemented in collaboration with Plan Malawi with funding from European Union (EU).

Speaking to YFM during one of the technology disseminating meetings in Zombwe area, DAO Extension Methodology Officer Albert Tembo said the project is also aimed at reducing malnutrition since farmers are being taught how to plant new varieties of crops such sweet potatoes.

“Coming in of this school has helped a lot farmers now we are moving together it has brought the research knowledge among the farmers in the past we used to rely on research findings from Vumbwe and Lunyangwa Research Stations but now the research is right at the door of farmers and they are able to take part in the research,” Tembo said.

Apart from reducing malnutrition, Tembo also said farmers will yield enough crops because of the new methodologies that are underlined in the project.

“In Malawi we have been relying on maize as a staple food but now with the coming of sweet potatoes is another addition to the staple food so farmers are able to have enough food,” Tembo said.

On her part one of the farmers in the area Modester Zuwa said farmers are learning a lot from the project and they are optimistic they will harvest bumper yields in the coming planting season.

“As farmers in the past we had little knowledge on the technologies that have come to improve our daily farming, this project will help us to harvest enough while the surplus we will sell it and make profits,” Zuwa said.