The African Development Bank Group has approved an $8.49 million grant from the African Development Fund to restore agricultural infrastructure and irrigation schemes devastated by Cyclone Freddy in the Phalombe and Thyolo districts. According to the African Development Bank, the funding will support the Enhancing Climate-Adapted Agricultural Productivity through Improved Water Management project, which runs from June 2026 to September 2031. The initiative aims to rebuild and climate-proof three damaged irrigation schemes covering 180 hectares, while training approximately 28,000 smallholder farmers in climate-smart agriculture to improve long-term food security and increase crop yields.
Update: Following previous agricultural funding agreements, a 12-member delegation from the International Fund for Agricultural Development is currently in Malawi to evaluate the second phase of the Sustainable Agricultural Production Programme. According to AfricaBrief, the supervision mission will run until July 3 to assess the operational progress and impact of the programme. The team is specifically reviewing the Response to Emergencies and Disasters initiative, which recently provided vulnerable farming households with free certified maize seed and heavily subsidised 50kg bags of fertiliser to help restore crop production following severe weather shocks.