Implemented by the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development with funding from the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Malawi Government, the Smallholder Irrigation Project (ShIP), aims at improving the well being of smallholder farmers through poverty alleviation. It focuses on promoting broad-based and accelerated agricultural development through the development of irrigation farming.
With a very carefully selected team of strong and vibrant dynamic professionals at the Project Implementation Unit, the project mainly focuses on contributing to food security by increasing land under irrigation, increasing maize yields and the number of cropping cycles, and reducing the number of hunger months.
It also concentrates on contributing to economic growth and development for rural farmers by increasing the volumes of crop sales per calendar year, linking the farmers to markets, increasing farmers’ annual incomes through crop sales and creating year round employment for the rural farmers.
ShIP operates in the Southern Region of Malawi in seven (7) districts namely Blantyre, Thyolo, Mwanza, Neno, Chiradzulu, Chikwawa and Nsanje.
The core project outputs in the districts include Civil Works such as Development of Irrigation Schemes, Rehabilitation of Water Storage and Irrigation Dams which are also used for Fishing and various Domestic Uses.
Other outputs include Construction of Market Platforms; Rehabilitation of Residential Training Centres, Natural Resources College Irrigation Demonstration Unit and Bunda College Hydraulics Laboratory.
The scheme is also involved in Capacity Building programmes including Distribution of Treadle and Motorised Pumps, as well as Beneficiary Mobilisation.
ShIP outcomes have included job creation, business creation, food security and economic empowerment. In spite of some hiccups, the implementation which will be closing in December 2008 has so far been a success indeed.
