The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced funding of $22 million to strengthen Malawi's climate resilience, particularly in the agricultural sector.
Hope is not yet lost for Malawi. While all the efforts made so far have not enabled the government in Lilongwe to strengthen the resilience of its 20 million inhabitants to the vagaries of the climate, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is releasing $22.7 million to turn things around.
This grant, awarded via its African Development Fund (ADF), will be invested in agriculture, one of the sectors most affected by the series of natural disasters that have hit this East African country in recent years. These include tropical storm Gombe, whose flooding weakened animal and plant species in Liwonde National Park in 2022, and cyclone Idai les (200 km/h), which killed at least 60 Malawians in 2021.
“The funds will support the development of a farmer registration module and the roll-out of a national farm management information system. It also targets efficiency, transparency and accountability in agricultural sector spending, as well as strengthening disaster preparedness and climate change resilience measures in Malawi,” says the AfDB.
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The increasing number of meteorological phenomena in neighbouring countries is beginning to reduce Malawi’s chances of being given priority by the various development partners. However, this country of 20 million inhabitants should benefit from the Regional Climate Resilience Programme for Eastern and Southern Africa (RCRP) currently being implemented by the World Bank. At a total cost of $420 million, it aims to install early warning systems and share climate information between Malawi, Mozambique, the Comoros and Madagascar.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
