We are currently working on three projects where as the first two projects are already underway. Below is a highlight of different projects that have been undertaken at BCI:

Seed and Knowledge Initiative (SKI) Phase III Project

 Phase three of the SKI project is being implemented in Mzimba district in Mpherembe Extension Planning Area (EPA), targeting 3000 smallholder farmers, and these include women, youth, and people living with HIV and AIDS. The overall objective of the project is that by 2027, farming communities have improved food sovereignty through resilient farmer-led seed systems and more biodiverse and multifunctional landscapes. In this phase, BCI continues to train farmers in agroecology and permaculture, focusing on the integration of local ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge. The integration of local ecological knowledge with scientific knowledge is believed to be crucial in building resilient and sustainable farming systems. Smallholder farmers have enormous local ecological knowledge that they use to adapt their farming practices to biotic and abiotic stresses while improving their agroecosystems, especially soils that are highly degraded. This project's outcomes and outputs are:

 Outcome 1: Farmers practice, spread, advocate for AE and FLSS in their communities, districts, and countries
Output 1.1: Practicing farmers are supported to lead in spreading and promoting practice in AE and FLSS
Output 1.2: Additional knowledge is gathered, co-created, documented and used by farming communities
Output 1.3: Farmers demand and protect their rights

 Outcome 2: Decision- and change-makers are influenced by a stronger movement for AE, FLSS and Farmers' Rights
Output 2.1: Evidence for advocacy efforts is developed, packaged and disseminated widely
Output2.2: Farmers’ rights and other campaigns (nutrition, climate change) are supported
Output 2.3: Collaborative processes are in place to enhance collective learning.
Output 2.4: SKI Partner Organisations and Farmer organisations are strengthened

Scaling up Climate adapted agriculture in Malawi and Mozambique (MAMO II) Project

Project Period: 2021-2025
Project Target: 9000 Agriculture dependent Households
Project catchment Area: Rumphi District in Katowo and Mwazisi EPAs, and Mzimba District in Kazomba and Vibangalala EPAs  

 The Scaling Up Climate-Adapted Agriculture in Malawi and Mozambique (MAMO II) project is being implemented in Mzimba and Rumphi districts. The overall objective of the project is to increase the resilience and wellbeing of rural communities in selected districts of Malawi and Mozambique. This project is being implemented with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), through the Development Fund of Norway (DF). The project has the following outputs;

 Output 1: Awareness raising provided by partners and community leaders to improve nutrition and care practices
Output 2: Support provided to smallholder farmers and pastoralists on sustainable agriculture, seed systems and livestock production
Output 3: Support provided to rural communities develop CAV plans and manage/restore land and water resources
Output 4: Support provided to women, youth and marginalized groups to develop income generation opportunities and businesses
Output 5: Support provided to promote inclusive rural communities and grassroots organizations

The HarnessFarms Project

Harnessing agroecological food systems to enhance nutrition, income, market access, and food security among smallholder farmers in northern Malawi (HarnessFarms) is a project that is being implemented in Katowo EPA, in Rumphi district. The project is being implemented with funding from Biovision Foundation, through “The Northern Agroecology Collaborative (NAC)”. The NAC is a consortium of three Malawian organizations: Soils, Food, and Healthy Communities (SFHC), Slow Food Malawi (SFM), and Biodiversity Conservation Initiative (BCI).

The overall goal of this project is to advance a sustainable, resilient, and equitable food system transformation in Malawi by building local and regional agroecological markets that, in the long term, will aim to improve the food security and incomes of small-scale producers, support gender-sensitive small and medium food enterprise development, and increase local consumers’ access to diverse, healthy foods while sustaining a healthy agro-ecosystem.
The project focuses on three topics:
(1) Improve dietary diversity: use participatory education to raise nutritional awareness,
(2) Support gender equity: use participatory methods to address gender inequity and promote women empowerment and
(3) Develop fair and reliable markets: work with smallholder farmers to improve food production through agroecological methods and finding viable markers. The project’s outcomes and outputs are:  

 Outcome 1: Agroecological farmers will understand the consumer demand for agroecological produce in Malawi
Output 1.1: Closely link producers and consumers on Agroecological (AE) products
Output 1.2: Knowledge on consumer needs f or AE products improved

Outcome 2: Equitable markets for agroecological produce will be established
Output 2.1: Value addition of agroecologically produce improved
Output 2.2: Improved coordination of stakeholders in developing equitable agroecological markets
Output 2.3: Improved capacity of farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in marketing of AE products

Outcome 3: Youth will have learned how to create innovative agroecological businesses.
Output 3.1. Knowledge and capacity of youth to participate in agroecology businesses increased
Output 3.2. Increased access to market information among youths’ farmers