Addressing Gendered Aspects of Food Insecurity in Kalintulo Tea Plantation Community, Malawi

The project aims at addressing the gendered aspects of food insecurity in Kalintulo tea plantation community in Thyolo district in Malawi. In tea estates communities, the determining factors of food insecurity include low wages among tea pickers (who are mainly women), shortage of land, and existing household gender imbalances. The project considers food security to be a human rights issue, and the problem of food insecurity will be addressed through empowerment of men and women farming in the area and working at the tea plantations. It will involve the assessment of food insecurity at the community and household level, analyzing causes of food insecurity, and actions to reduce food insecurity will be implemented. The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the Malawi Centre for Advice, Research, and Education on Rights (Malawi CARER). It is expected that imbalances of gender in the division of labor will be reduced, giving women more opportunity to be involved in activities that promote household food security in the project area. It is expected that income for women, who are the majority in the low wage labor of tea plucking, and are farmers, primarily involved in growing food for family consumption, will increase, resulting in increased purchasing power to buy food and agriculture production inputs. It is also anticipated that land will be available for crop production through negotiation skills, and also increased crop yield through agro-forestry practices, and access to firewood through agro-forestry, thereby reducing the burden on women‘s work load, and giving them more time for food production activities, resulting in sustainable food security in Kalintulo tea plantation community.