When Esther Sato gently twists the cap on a bottle of golden cooking oil, her smile says more than words ever could. This oil, made from sunflower seeds grown on her own land, is no longer just a harvest sold at the mercy of middlemen. It is now a finished product — packaged, ready for market, and a source of pride for her cooperative.
“We’re now in business,” she says, standing under a small shelter in Mpherembe, Mzimba, as a line of customers quickly buy out the group’s stock.
For generations, smallholder farmers in Mpherembe grew crops only to sell them raw — often at low prices that left families struggling to make ends meet. But that is beginning to change.
Across the region, farmers are shifting from simply growing to adding value. With the support of the TRANSFORM Programme, farmer groups are now using oil pressers, maize shellers, and peanut butter-making machines to process their harvests. The aim is simple: keep more of the profit close to home and feed their families better in the process.
The equipment was handed over last week at a community gathering led by Senior Chief Mpherembe, who urged farmers not to squander the opportunity.
“This is a rare moment,” he told them. “Use these machines wisely. Do not sell everything — keep some for your homes. Let this be the beginning of something new,” said Senior Chief Mpherembe.
Seven farmer groups received the equipment under a revolving scheme. Each group paid 10 percent upfront, a contribution that will help fund machines for others in the future. The gesture is not charity — it is an investment in resilience, shared ownership, and long-term change.
Charity Chaula, from Kamkwamba Model Village, knows what that means. As she watched the maize sheller hum to life for the first time, she saw years of hard work take a new direction.
“Our dream of earning income from our harvest has come true,” she said. “The sheller came just when we needed it most.”
The transformation goes beyond machines. The program also offers training in food safety, marketing, business development, and cooperative management. Farmers are not just learning how to press oil or make peanut butter — they are learning how to run sustainable businesses that support families and strengthen communities.
Dr. Beatrice Mbakaya, Director of Agriculture and Natural Resources for Mzimba North, sees this as a key step toward Malawi’s Vision 2063.
“With value addition, our youth will stay and work here instead of migrating abroad,” she said. “This is how we build a stronger local economy.”
The mood at the event was not one of dependency but of determination. As Paul Mmanjamwada of Norwegian Church Aid and Dan Church Aid noted, the presence of the local chief reminded everyone that this effort belongs to the people themselves. The support, he added, comes through the K200 million TRANSFORM revolving fund, backed by the Royal Norwegian Embassy — not as a gift, but as a springboard for communities to build sustainable livelihoods through shared responsibility and collective effort.
“If you take care of the equipment, your lives will change and when you face challenges, resolve them together,” he said.
For many, this is not just about better income. It is about dignity, health, and the ability to shape one’s future. The Kanthete Cooperative’s successful demonstration of their oil-making machine — selling out their batch within hours — showed what is possible when local knowledge meets practical tools.
The TRANSFORM Programme reaches across five districts, targeting 150,000 smallholder households. But its impact is most visible in the hands of farmers like Esther, Charity, and countless others who are proving that the real wealth of Malawi lies in its people — and in their power to transform what they already have into something more.
