Factors affecting the growth of the Malawian film industry

Interest in development of Malawian film has occurred like flashes in pans over the years, considering the culture of cinema and film making in the country. Like many Malawian arts genres, attempts to develop the film industry have met lukewarm responses from the market that seems unready to consume Malawian products, given the international competition that the practice has had over the years, whether it be from the British colonial films, moving to Hollywood, the injection of Chinese karate movies and of late the popular Nollywood video films. Besides the market, however, issues of support in terms of non-existent legal frameworks emerge now and again, adding to explanations of failing growth. Critically, the silence on Malawian film making and cinema in international scholarly circles, with the exception of David Kerr’s lone voice, should be a surprise, given how other industries in the region and the continent have developed, and continue to develop. This article attempts to ask some of the most basic questions about the practice of film making in Malawi on who, what, and how films have been created, tracing the history of cinema from the British Colonial practice, through Kamuzu Banda’s reign to the present. Having done that, the paper samples a selection of films from reputable film makers, and using Steve Chimombo’s theory of ULIMBASO, places them within the ideological formations and aesthetics of Malawi and Africa. In the end, what this paper achieves is to further what scholars such as David Kerr have explored as they connected the Malawian film industry to British colonial film making in Central Africa, tea marketing cinema, and its illustrious viewing plans in Nyasaland, as it fills the scholarly information gap that exists.Key words: Hollywood, Malawian film, ULIMBASO, Nollywood, Tea Marketing Cinem

Feminization of African agriculture and the meaning of decision-making for empowerment and sustainability

The purpose of this study was to assess women’s decision-making power in small-scale agriculture in six African countries in view of the feminization of agriculture and to discuss the meaning of decision-making in relation to women’s empowerment and sustainability. The data are drawn from a multisite and mixed-method agricultural research and development project in six sub-Saharan countries including two sites in each country. The five domains of empowerment outlined in the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index are used to structure the analysis. The results indicate that in the selected sites in Malawi, Rwanda and South Africa, women farmers tend to dominate agricultural decision-making, while the result is more mixed in the Kenyan sites, and decision-making tends to be dominated by men in the sites in Tanzania and Ethiopia. Despite women participating in agricultural decision-making, the qualitative results show that women small-scale farmers were not perceived to be empowered in any of the country sites. It appears that the feminization of agriculture leads to women playing a more important role in decision-making but also to more responsibilities and heavier workloads without necessarily resulting in improvements in well-being outcomes that would enhance sustainability

Gender transformative change in Malawian and Zambian fishery value chains : gender outcomes

This brief explains the gender transformative approach which was adopted throughout the project to address harmful social and gender norms and power relations that constrain women fishery producers. The project developed and tested postharvest fish processing technologies (solar tent dryers, smoking kilns, salting) to help reduce losses. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to uncover the complex causes of fish post-harvest loss with a special focus on processing. Women’s Empowerment in Fisheries Index (WEFI) is a valuable instrument for application in small-scale fishery settings to assess gendered dynamics.Australian International Food Security Research Centr

Changement transformateur des relations entre les sexes dans la chaîne de valeur du secteur des pêches : résultats relatifs au genre

Australian International Food Security Research Centr

From policy promises to result through innovation in African agriculture?

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InnovAfrica project baseline survey data for Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania

A data set was generated thorugh surveys to establish a baseline inforamtion for a project entitled "Innovations in Technology, Institutional and Extension Approaches towards Sustainable Agriculture and enhanced Food and Nutrition Security in Africa (Acronym - InnovAfrica)". The InnovAfrica is a consortium of 16 institutions comprising five institutions from Europe and eleven institutions from Africa and the project was implemented in six countries of eastern and southern Africa namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania from June 2017 to November 2021.There is no restriction to use these data set.Funding provided by: Horizon 2020Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007601Award Number: 727201The baseline data was collected from 12 pilot sites (2 sites per country) with in the first 12 months of the project using structured questionnaire. Data was first collected using papper based printed questionnaire and later digitalized in KIPUS system (a smart data software)

InnovAfrica project endline survey data for Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania

A consortium of 16 institutions comprising five institutions from Europe and eleven institutions from Africa implemented a project entitled "Innovations in Technology, Institutional and Extension Approaches towards Sustainable Agriculture and enhanced Food and Nutritional Security in Africa (InnovAfrica)" in six countries of eastern and southern Africa namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania from June 2017 to November 2021. The InnovAfrica project collected endline data from 12 pilot sites (two sites per country) in the third years of the project. The data collected during the Endline survey is presented in this document.There is no restriction to use these data set.Funding provided by: H2020*Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: 727201The endline data were collected from 12 pilot study sites comprising two sites each from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania using structured questionnaire and focus group discussion