CDF Canada Supports Dowa Cooperatives Through IAAM Project
The Cooperative Development Foundation of Canada (CDF Canada) is supporting six cooperatives and two clubs in Dowa District through its Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture to Combat Food Insecurity in Malawi (IAAM) project.
The project is providing training in governance and group dynamics while promoting entrepreneurship and value addition of fish and other agricultural products through cooperatives and farmer clubs.
For instance, Nambuna Club in Nalunga Extension Planning Area (EPA) has received a fish kiln to support fish processing and value addition.
Presenting an update on the IAAM project to the Dowa District Executive Committee (DEC), CDF Canada Gender Specialist Hannah Natasja Chidaya said the project is being implemented in eight districts across Malawi, including Dowa.
Chidaya said the project aims to increase productivity and incomes while improving market access for small-scale producers, particularly women involved in Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture Systems (IAAS), which combine fish farming, crop production, livestock and agroforestry.
She said the project is being implemented through six key areas: cooperative and value chain development; climate-resilient aquaculture and agriculture production; market diversification; women’s rights and gender equality; sexual and reproductive health and rights; and forestry and biodiversity.
According to Chidaya, the project has so far identified and verified fish farmers, conducted a gendered value chain analysis and an environmental and social impact assessment. The project was officially launched in Lilongwe on December 5, 2025.
She said significant progress has been made under the IAAS component, including establishing demonstration sites, stocking the sites with fingerlings, distributing livestock, vegetables and fruit trees, and providing 26 bags of feed per demonstration site.
The project has also implemented capacity-building programmes and encouraged increased adoption of IAAS practices among follower farmers.
Chidaya said CDF Canada is currently working with 217 individual fish farmers, six cooperatives and two clubs linked to the cooperatives, while five additional clubs are participating through demonstration sites and value-addition activities.
She said the project has found that demonstration sites are accelerating farmers’ adoption of new technologies, while private-sector involvement will be crucial for sustainability.
Participatory approaches, she added, are strengthening community ownership, while collaboration with the Dowa District Council is improving project implementation.
However, Chidaya said the project continues to face challenges, including individualism among some farmers, weak reporting mechanisms and clashes between the school calendar and the project work plan, which have delayed youth engagements.
She also cited rising operational costs caused by macroeconomic instability.
“The macroeconomic instability is also affecting the cost of project implementation. For example, in 2024, the cost of fish feed in Malawi was around MK43,000, while it is now around MK100,000,” Chidaya said.
She added that funding limitations amid the current global funding squeeze were also affecting project implementation.
To address some of the challenges, Chidaya said the project had adjusted feed quantities and was partnering with feed producers to improve access to affordable feed.
The project is also strengthening coordination with Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) and District Youth Officers (DYOs) to improve reporting, while youth activities are being scheduled in the afternoons to accommodate school-going young people.
In his remarks, Dowa District Council Director of Planning and Development Phillimon Maseko urged development partners implementing interventions in the district to support the IAAM project so that its successes could be expanded to more communities across Dowa.
