The Malawi Lake Basin Programme aims to promote gender equality through its work with smallholder farmers. It is implemented by a consortium of five partners focused on improving climate adaptation, agriculture, farmer organizations, and empowering women, youth, and vulnerable groups. The programme conducts activities in two districts of Malawi, primarily targeting these groups. It has made efforts to mainstream gender across its work, including through adult literacy programs, gender training, and appointing gender champions. So far, high participation of women has been achieved, though ensuring equal access and control of resources remains a challenge. The programme recognizes more work is needed for true empowerment of women.

1. Gender Equality in Malawi Lake Basin
Programme
Highlights

2. Malawi Lake Basin Programme (MLBP)
Implemented as Consortium of five partners:
• We Effect
• Farmers Union of Malawi
• NASFAM
• MUSCCO
• Vi Agroforestry

3. MLBP Objectives
1.Increased community adaptation to impacts of climate
change
2.Increased agricultural productivity and diversification
3.Strengthened farmer organisation and entrepreneurship
4.Improved policy, advocacy and enabling environment
5.Increased empowerment of women, youth and
vulnerable groups
6.Strengthened local partners

4. Field work primarily in two
Districts: Salima and Mangochi
MUSCCO also work in other
districts such as Kasungu,
Ntcheu, Mzimba
Nationally on policy lobby and
advocacy
Impact areas

5. Gen
Smallholder
farmers
Organisational
development
FUM
Business
development
NASFAM
Financial
services
MUSCCO
Climate Smart
Agricultural
practices
We Effect
Natural
Resource
Management
We Effect
Adult literacy,
youth and
Hiv/AIDS
FUM
360 degree around the smallholder farmers
Gender main
streaming
Study Circles

6. Particular gender mainstreaming efforts
• Women empowerment across the activities
• Adult literacy
• Gender sensitization through Gender Action
Learning System (GALS)
- Training of field officers
- Training and appointing Gender Champions
• Training of local leaders
• Training of sector and district coordinators in gender
mainstreaming
• Action plan for gender mainstreaming throughout the
programme

7. Results so far
• Great outreach to women
• Overall – huge majority of
women participants in all the
different activities
• Increasing number of women
in leadership

8. Challenges
• We are not very sure of the factors behind the
majority of participants being women
• Fishing community
• Work migration
• etc
• Illiteracy
• Leadership by women is still a challenge
• While women benefit through the participation,
access and control of the gained resources are still
posing challenges

9. Lessons learned
Major lesson learned is
that much more work
needs to be done in terms
of empowerment of
women to gain equal
access to and control over
resources

10. Way forward
We have therefore developed and action plan for
mainstreaming gender equality into all the sectors
• Engendering Programme document (logframe)
• Gender analyses for all sectors
• Gender planning in all sectors
• FRAS implementation
• Improving documentation on women empowerment
• Try to establish a work relation ship with WOLREC
with focus on human rights

11. For consideration
• More use of household approach for improving gender
relationships?
• How to define a household?
• Participation of other partners and approaches?
• Availability of good policies and tools?

12. Thank you!