Blessings Thengeza was 26 when he joined a CAT supported program; AWILI, he accessed improved and certified groundnut seed and is impressed at his own crop stand. He is expecting high yields and improve his income this year and believes AWILI will be his way out of poverty. Upon attending a sensitization meeting conducted by Agwenda in April he rushed for the opportunity to turn around his economic situation.
Newly married Blessings Thengeza, 27, from Jinga youth club in Vyovyo village, group village head Vyovyo, T/A Mwadzama, Mtosa EPA, Nkhotakota is working hard to be a family man to support his family. Now, with one child he is fighting hard to turn-around the economic situation, he decided to join AWILI and ride on the input and extension service to improve both his production and agriculture practice.
”I took a loan of 21kg of unshelled groundnuts that i am required to pay back 63kg. I expect a yeild of 1,500 kgs this year on the 1 acre piece of land that i borrowed from my mother, surely, paying back 63kgs will be like dropping an inch of salt in Lake Malawi’’. He laughs.
In 2022 Blessings took a loan of 21kg of groundnuts from AWILI, AWILI through its Agwenda Agrodealer outlets provided an improved and certifed variety of CG9; high yielding and resistant to dieases including rosette. ”I have never used certified and improved seeds but this is the best experience i have ever had. I was skeptical at first about the seed and the program but I surely encourage my wife to join the program. He expressed with gratitude”.
In 2021 he started farming groudnuts but his yields were low due to use of recycled seeds but during the Sentitization meetings with AWILI field officers the Jinga youth club members were promised and assured to be given the certified seeds as well as constant extension support and supervision. Blessing Thengeza is all smiles with the CAT supported initiative and he is already looking forward to working again with CAT parter; AWILI in 2023/24 farming season to benefit from extension services ad certified seeds.
”After paying back the loan i plan to sell back to Agwenda later on. I will keep the excess to sell my produce after the prices go up, I will extend the piece of land to 2 acres, and take a loan of 42 kgs of groundnuts, I also plan on taking a loan of chilies and hiring casual labor as the work will be too much for me. Through AWILI i want to become a full time trader, i get rich or die trying”