Malawi’s Women Farmers Struggle to Recover from Devastating Cyclone Freddy
Malawi, one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to extreme weather events, is still reeling from the devastating effects of Cyclone Freddy, which struck the country in February and March 2023. The storm, which lasted a record 38 days, brought widespread destruction, killing over 1,200 people and displacing nearly 660,000 others. The country’s smallholder farmers, who produce 80% of the food consumed in Malawi, were particularly hard hit, with over 2 million farmers losing their crops and 1.4 million livestock either drowning, starving, or becoming lost.
The impact on women farmers has been particularly severe. Ellen Sinoya, a 43-year-old farmer from Mwenye village in southern Malawi, lost her home and land in the cyclone. She now has to walk two days to work on a commercial farm, earning just $3 a day to feed her family. "We have nothing to make here. We have nothing to sell. We have nothing to sustain our lives," she says.
Women like Sinoya are not only most at risk from climate-related disasters but also shoulder most of the recovery efforts. They are responsible for manual labor on the farm, bringing food to the table, and searching for food in emergency situations. According to Caleb Ng’ombo, director of People Serving Girls at Risk, "Women are the backbone of every society in Malawi. They are the ones who do the manual work on the farm, who bring the food to the table, and who go and look for food in an emergency."
The cyclone has also led to a surge in prostitution, with many women forced to turn to sex work to survive. "When Cyclone Freddy hit, the number of women in prostitution almost tripled," says Ng’ombo. "We have come across so many women whose farmland was washed away. They became so vulnerable, laying hands on whatever they could get to survive and feed their families. It’s become easier for traffickers."
Malawi’s food system is still reeling from the cyclone, with the price of maize, the country’s staple food, quadrupling. The government predicts that climate change could result in a 20% GDP loss by 2040, while the population is projected to almost double by 2050.
However, some farmers are adapting to the changing climate. Jacob Jumpha, a 26-year-old farmer from Mangochi District, has adopted low-cost farming methods that have improved his resilience to climate shocks. He grows peas between rows of maize, increasing yields during high rainfall and reducing soil nutrient loss. Instead of using chemical fertilizer, Jumpha uses compost and manure, which improves water retention during the dry season.
Experts say that subsistence farmers like Jumpha can’t be expected to break free from centuries of convention without structural support like training, subsidies, and incentives. NGOs are providing some of this training, and Malawi has secured funding for a five-year project to reduce the exploitation of natural resources, restore forests, and facilitate the uptake of alternative livelihoods.
However, helping Malawi’s most vulnerable communities, including people like Ellen Sinoya, will be crucial for those recovering from Cyclone Freddy and the inevitable disasters to come.