Scottish Government grant for threshing machines for Malawi.
A chance meeting at St John’s Dumfries between a Malawi rice farmer and a member of the congregation has led to the development of a project which could make significant change for the better for farmers in that part of Africa. The Balmore Trust, which has close associations with a number of Episcopal congregations, has just been awarded a £60000 grant by the Scottish Government to introduce pedal-driven threshing machines into Malawi.
The project is the brain-child of Paul Tofield from Dumfries. Two years ago he met Howard Msukwa, one the farmers whose rice is sold by JTS, the Balmore Trust’s fair trade arm. Paul was deeply impressed by Howard’s determination and the sheer amount of work which his rice farming involved. When Howard told him that farmers thresh their rice by beating it against a log, Paul told him about the pedal-driven threshing machines they used to have in Orkney. That summer Paul went to Orkney and found an old machine. That was the basis for the three machines which have just reached Malawi.
The grant will help to get the machines manufactured in-country, providing jobs for Malawians. It will make low-cost machines available to farmers’ clubs, freeing them from the huge burden of threshing, and allowing them more time to develop their farms. We think it will make a big difference, increasing productivity without damaging the environment.
Humza Yousaf, Minster for Europe and International Development said:
We like to think that this is one of the real advantages of doing fair trade. By building really close links with farmers, bringing them over and introducing them to supporters here, you can enlist remarkable support. People buy their products and then some more, helping them find innovative solutions to long-standing problems.
