Daimon Kambewa

Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources | LUANAR · Extension

Bambara groundnut ( Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc) are a neglected and underutilized crop species that is in high demand among Sub-Saharan African smallholder farmers. Despite the high demand, there are no improved varieties available to smallholder farmers in Malawi. This study aimed at characterizing agro-morphological traits and identifying genet...

Farmer-centred approaches are applied to engage smallholder farmers in agricultural research and development with the purpose of identifying and scaling out context specific innovations. Understanding the underlying processes that influence the decision of smallholder farmers to scale-out innovations is, therefore, paramount to effective farmer-led...

Based on government statistics and interviews with villagers across Malawi this article argues that customary matrilineal and patrilineal land tenure systems serve to weaken security of land tenure for some family members as well as obstructing the creation of gender-neutral inheritance of lands. Data from the National Census of Agriculture and Liv...

In Malawi, the distress and unease caused by rising numbers of deaths and chronic illness due to HIV infection have led people to search for explanations. Here, we describe two particular "turns to culture." Zomba villagers over two decades have come to link AIDS with kanyera, an indigenous illness syndrome. In contrast, the public media, governmen...

Drawing on a twenty-year study, we examine the effects of HIV-related illness and death on villagers in Malawi during 2006. Contrary to unidimensional images of an AIDS disaster, we found people striving for normality – trying to control the abnormal circumstances of the rising toll of HIV-related illness and death. Just over 40 % of the sample hou...

This report has not been formally peer reviewed. The opinions expressed here reflect those of the authors, and not necessarily those of their home institutions or supporting organizations. 1 Summary The research, conducted from January to December 2006, investigated the effects of the HIV epidemic on a Zomba District sample of households that has b...

Malawi, like other countries in Africa, has a new land policy designed to clarify and formalise customary tenure. The country is poor with a high population density, highly dependent on agriculture, and the research sites are matrilineal-matrilocal, and near urban centres. But the case raises issues relevant to land tenure reform elsewhere: the rol...

This paper focuses on the existing customary tenure and use rights to valuable wetland gardens and governance mechanisms. It identifies the modes of access, drawing attention to the differing roles of chiefs, families as well as households in wetland management. The study, carried out in the Lake Chilwa wetland in Malawi's Southern Region, demonstr...

"This paper challenges simplistic assumptions in the land policy in Malawi that land belongs to all members of the household. The study, carried out in two districts of Chiradzulu and Phalombe in the Southern Region of Malawi used qualitative methods to examine the local histories and practices to identify the social and power relations between mal...