The Center for Resilient Agri-Food Systems (CRAFS) at the University of Malawi invites proposals for community action research projects to enhance the resilience of agri-food systems in Malawi. This call aims to support innovative, sustainable, and locally driven solutions that address the challenges faced by the agri-food sector.

CRAFS is funded by the World Bank, through the Government of Malawi, under the Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence Additional Financing (ACE II AF) project. CRAFS aims to stimulate and support research and development for holistic solutions focusing on agri-food systems and nutrition, agricultural risk management, and climate change proofing. It also focuses on innovation, statistical analysis, digital agriculture, and market information management systems, including AI and data analytics.

Sustainable food systems are at the center of the Sustainable Development Goals (especially SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 13), which call for significant transformations in agri-food systems to end hunger, achieve food security, and improve nutrition by 2030. Food security is a national priority in Malawi (MW 2063; Pillars 1 and 2) and is a development pillar in the African Union's 2063 strategic framework. Eliminating hunger requires transitioning to sustainable, inclusive, and resilient agri-food systems based on scientific evidence and modern technology. Understanding the complex interactions between smallholder farmer food production, preservation, and processing, high yield gaps, and larger-scale policy influences is also crucial. To this end, local researchers and practitioners can develop fine-scale, locally relevant solutions that bridge the disconnect between science, policy, and practice in the food systems value chain.

CRAFS, therefore, requests proposals from individuals, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), community groups, and cooperatives for community action research projects to enhance the resilience of agri-food systems in Malawi. This initiative seeks to foster innovative, sustainable, and locally driven solutions that address the challenges faced in our agri-food sector.

Objectives: 

The primary objectives of this call for proposals are to:

• Develop energy-efficient and intelligent process and device control systems

• Strengthen all-weather food production and harvest-to-market processes, including market linkages

• Improve food and feed product formulation, processing, and biosafety

• Enhance market information systems and WIBI schemes
  
  

Priority Areas: We are particularly interested in proposals that focus on the following four themes: 

• Theme 1: Food and Feed Formulation and Processing

• Theme 2: Market Information Systems and WIBI Schemes

• Theme 3: Biosecure Mushroom Production and Product Development

• Theme 4: Smart and Energy-Efficient Precision Farming Control Systems

  
  

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