Next Café

Register to Join the Next Climate Café  

Friday, January 24, 2025, 9–10 AM (EST)
Zoom: https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/91398564857
Passcode: 800733 | Register here

Topic: Seed Security and Climate Resilience in Northern Malawi

Café Guests

Daniel AmoakDr Daniel Amoak
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3879-7233

Dr Daniel Amoak is a WeCLISH Fellow at Western University and a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment, the University of Waterloo, Canada.

With research interests in sustainable food systems, environment, and health, he is keen on contributing to tackling global health inequalities exacerbated by climate change and promoting gender equality toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

For postdoctoral research, Dr. Amoak is investigating the impact of water security and participatory water governance on women's empowerment throughout their life course in East Africa. His PhD thesis under Dr. Luginaah’s supervision at Western entitled The Role of Seed Security in Smallholder Farmers’ Household Nutrition, Climate Change Resilience and Empowerment in Northern Malawi – a critical work informed and inspired this café talk.

Esther LupafyaEsther Lupafya
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0216-4514

Ms Esther Lupafya is a PARTAKE Africa research cluster Co-lead and Director of the farmer-led not-for-profit organization – Soils, Food and Healthy Communities (SFHC) in Malawi.

Building a network of 20,000 farmers and equipping them with participatory farmer-to-farmer training, she and her colleagues at SFHC have been strengthening smallholder farmers’ capacity in agroecological practices toward addressing food insecurity, poverty and gender inequalities for over 30 years.

In partnership with smallholder farmers and academia, including Cornell, Mzuzu, and Western, Ms Lupafya has been conducting participatory research in agroecology, gender, public health, and nutrition. These initiatives culminated in her winning the Women’s World Summit Foundation Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life in 2023. She was also featured in the PBS climate change series The Ants & The Grasshopper.

Description

Let’s drink in the WeCLISH Climate Café Zoom Room and connect over an insightful conversation with Café Guests: Dr Daniel Amoak and Ms Esther Lupafya.

Drawing on the vulnerability and resilience perspectives, they will share findings from their recent article highlighting the role of smallholder farmers’ seed security in improving climate change resilience in Northern Malawi. As Malawi’s agriculture is mostly rainfed and 85% of its livelihoods depend on agriculture, the increased intensity of climate stressors, such as high temperatures and droughts, have been hitting the country hard. Therefore, building resilience to climate change to ensure food security is critical for this Global South nation.

They will also discuss the Malawi Farmer-to-Farmer Agroecology (MAFFA) intervention implemented by farmer-led Soils, Food and Healthy Communities (SFHC). In a dialogue with the audience, the café will explore what this study might offer to the climate-resilient agroecological research, programs, and policies for Malawi and others in similar contexts in Africa and beyond.

Please mark your calendar and join us to listen, get inspired, and share your thoughts for an engaging conversation!

Readings

  • Amoak, D., Lupafya, E., Dakishoni, L., & Luginaah, I. (2024). Towards food sovereignty: The role of smallholder farmers’ seed security in improving climate change resilience in Northern Malawi. Geographical Review, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/00167428.2024.2335395
  • Vansant, E. C., Bezner Kerr, R., Sørensen, H., Phiri, I., & Westengen, O. T. (2022). Exchange and experimentation: community seed banks strengthen farmers’ seed systems in Northern Malawi. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 20(7), 1415–1436. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2022.2122254