Of Malawi’s Potato seed betterment
Potato farmer and local seed producer, James Maulana, is what you would call the seed go-to-guy for Dedza, central Malawi’s thriving potato industry.
In fact, the larger than life farmer goes further. He says he is the present day fortune maker.
Through a modern science based project, he and a few of his peers have over the past 2 years been scheming and succeeding at improving and blooding in the district’s major potato agriculture industry with improved seed to counter decades of diminishing returns on potatoes as a result of degenerated seed.
“As a major producing potato district, we have had reduced potato yields because our seed had degenerated; hence lost its potency and was full of diseases and therefore affecting incomes. We couldn’t access and afford healthy seed locally. Me and my family have turned that around now here in Zuze,” glows the eccentric Maulana, flanked by his seemingly happy family. 
Maulana is one of the local farmers that the International Potato Center (CIP), through the Root and Tuber Crops for Agricultural transformation in Malawi (RTC-ACTION Malawi) project, has developed to become one of the seed multipliers in Dedza.
The objective of the RTC-ACTION project, being implemented by CIP and partners in the extension, nutrition, research and trade departments of the Malawi Government and the Root and Tuber Crops Development Trust (RTCDT), partly emphasizes on engaging farmers to improve family incomes and household nutrition through more productive potato farming partly by making healthy potato seed available and accessible for all potato farmers in Dedza. The 5 year project is also being implemented in 9 other districts namely Thyolo, Neno, Ntcheu, Lilongwe, Dowa, Ntchisi, Mchinji, Kasungu and South Mzimba. .
Maulana is a family man who has been farming for four decades and he has an interesting tale of a second bite story. Seventeen years ago he gave up on potato farming and relocated to Zomba to seek “fortunes” after years of frustrating returns on the family potatoes farm land he had inherited. He started a nomadic life of shifting between Dedza and Zomba, leaving behind his family in Dedza most of the time and settled in Zomba to grow tomatoes and onions. However, he still did not make enough in Zomba because, according to him, he did not follow the recommended agronomic practices like the ones he now has from the RTC-ACTION project. His fortunes did not change much for 15 years as he could not remit enough money home to support his family, and again there were threats too that his 2.1 hectare customary land could be seized by relatives if he continued staying in Zomba.
“I had to return. Most of my peers were economically much better off when I returned. I felt I had lost time. I had to do something different and better with my family and we decided to engage into potato production again because it is what we do here. Doing it right this time. We contacted government agricultural extension service providers and joined Chikondi Potato Group which was supported by CIP and the Dedza agriculture office,” he says.
Chikondi group members were trained in modern potato production technologies. They also received trainings in maize, banana, beans, and sweet potato production from CIP and the Dedza Agriculture office.
One of the members of the potato group gave Malulana’s family the start-up potato seed. The seed was of good quality because his friend had adopted good seed production practices imparted to them.
“In order to improve food and nutritional security and generate profitable income, the project seeks to enable farmers sustainably access scientifically improved seed that is replaced and populated within 2 to 3 years and in order to do that, local seed multipliers and expertise are critical to that value chain,” says Thoko Mvula, a CIP Research Technician who has worked with Maulana’s community for the past four years.
During 2016/2017 season, Maulana and his family harnessed modern skills on potato production to improve yield. They had received 40 tubers of improved potato seed from the CIP project which is the basis of their current successful field production. The family had a very productive year that season and had enough seed for the following winter and summer as well as passing on to other villagers. In 2017/2018 season and his family hosted a potato demonstration plot which had improved varieties of Chuma, Thandizo, Zikomo, Rosita and Violet. Following his success in implementing this, Maulana became a lead farmer in his community.
They were inspired then to become seed multipliers and after receiving training and support, Maulana acquired stripes as a community based certified multi-plier of healthy, high yielding, early maturing and disease resistant potato seed through a strenuous government certification process. He is now licensed to serve his Zuze community and beyond.
Through the project, Maulana now has a Diffused Light Store (DLS), a low cost locally made infrastructure where he is storing quality potato seed under controlled conditions. The DLS allows healthy and robust sprouting of potato seed. He is multiplying seed for his own use and sale to local farmers for winter and summer cropping of 5 potato varieties-Violet, Chuma, Rosita, Zikomo and Thandizo-commonly farmed in Dedza and neighboring Ntcheu.
“You cannot over emphasize the need for good seed for potato production to be profitable. In my community good seed was always impossible and/or too expensive to find. Today, my family is producing better yields twice a year. We are also selling seed to local communities from our own facility. I wish I had done this much earlier in my life because I feel I wasted years. After the path I took 2 years ago, I have regained my fortunes in just under 2 years,” he says.
Things are looking up for the Maulana family as in 2017/2018, they planted 410Kg of seed on 0.26 Hectares and harvested 5213 Kg (5.2 tonnes) and then in 2019/20 he used 1,225Kg of seed on a 0.8 Hectares and harvested 18,568Kg (18.6 tonnes) from the family family land which is by far the best they have ever made. Maulana now concentrates on the seed enterprise part of the family establishment. He is constructing a new home, setting up a new and bigger DLS and exploring new farmlands to increase production in the summer.
Today Maulana’s 2 sons have also taken interest in the family trade and planning to become long term certified potato seed multipliers to supply commercially nationally as well as continuing being tuber producers by trade in their own right.
“It is in their DNA. They are potato people. Now they can earn a decent living from potatoes because they have the right seed and knowledge and something to learn from through our family story,” he says.
The author works for the Root and Tuber Crops Development Trust (RTCDT)