At passport control last week, the customs officer leafed through my passport, stamped it and said, “Welcome back to the Warm Heart of Africa.” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been here, but I can certainly say that Malawi lives up to that description and I’ve found Malawians to be consistently friendly, helpful and welcoming. So, it was a bit sad to read that in the 2025 World Happiness Index Malawi has slipped down to 131 out of 146 countries. Even Ukraine and Gaza are ranked higher! Malawi faces many challenges just now and I suspect hope is slipping away and that is what is reflected in these numbers. I pick up that despondency in all my meetings and conversations and it is a bit overwhelming. Malawi Fruits is so small, and we are doing our best to bring a future and a hope to the farmers we work with, but the need is huge and the issues are complex. As always, I focus in on what we can do and leave the politicians and others to deal with the big stuff.

Tomatoes planted at the end of the rainy season with mulching film to retain moisture

It’s always good to visit some of our farmers and see what they are achieving on the ground. We visited Jenda where Maxwell is growing tomatoes, onions and maize on his farm. His land has a high water table which really helps him and we are helping him to make the most of that natural advantage through the use of mulching film and access to a solar water pump which he needs for just 6 weeks at the end of the dry season.

Onions have good potential, including for export
A homemade seed drill to speed up planting and make maximum use of the beds.
New seedlings are under the straw nursery beds in the background

With Malawi Fruits support, Maxwell has become the poster boy of the seed company because of his excellent practice in the fields and he is getting great yields and high-quality onions. He rotates his crops – onions, tomatoes then maize – and the maize grows without fertiliser, feeding off the residual nutrients of the other two crops. It’s a great model and he certainly does have a Future and a Hope.

Atusaye (R) with Malawi Minister of Trade Vitumbiko Mumba (C) and our good friend Caesar who has established a very professional farm.

Although we are focussing on what we can do at local level, we are keen to share our learning more widely whenever we have the opportunity. Earlier this week Atusaye, our General Manager, had a 90-minute meeting with Vitumbiko Mumba, Malawi’s Minister of Trade. The Minister was keen to hear what we are doing and wants to support us to share good practice in horticulture as widely as possible. This is because two weeks ago, in the spirit of global politics at the moment, he made a bold decision to ban the import of all vegetables except those that can’t be grown in Malawi. This is an opportunity for farmers to step in and fill the gap and has the potential to help deal with Malawi’s chronic shortage of foreign currency, and we certainly want to play our part.

On hearing that garlic is one of the banned imports, Atusaye immediately bought some cloves for transplanting. He doesn’t hang about!

Garlic cloves are soaked in water overnight and then are ready for planting.