longitudinal impact assessment study of sugar producers in malawi

KCGL employees do not feel that they have benefitted in the same way. In fact most
of his data suggests that in 2008 working conditions had either stayed the same or
deteriorated. The appointment of a new Trust Administrator and Human Resources
Manager in 2008 was seen as a step forward to increase the capacity of the
management team. The new staff quickly got formal contracts in place for employees
and encouraged the establishment of a workers committee.
8.3 Case studies of KCGL members and non-member farmers
The following case studies highlight the land ownership, history, livelihood activities,
Fairtrade benefits and incomes of a range of families included in, and of some
presently excluded from, KCGL.
Case Study 1:
Case Study 1 & Family Age Education Crops Grown/farming role
Farmer 1 35 None 2.5 ha sugarcane, 0.3 ha
maize under irrigation
(Daughter) 18 Form 1 Assists in the cane field and
other activities
(Son) 15 Standard 8 Assists in the cane field and
31
other activities
(Son) 12 Refused to Also assists with lighter and
go to school urgent tasks
(Daughter) 10 Standard 5 Does not assist in any
farming activities
(Daughter) 7 Standard 1 Does not assist in any
farming activities
Before going into sugarcane growing through the scheme, Farmer 1 used to grow
maize and cotton in the same field.
She indicates that there were a lot of conflicts with local farmers before their land was
converted to sugarcane from the various crops they used to grow. They thought that
Illovo was going to take their land. But this was mediated through the District
Commissioner and some local leaders and finally most of the farmers accepted.
Some of those who did not accept migrated to other areas. She also pointed out that
some of those who were giving problems now have more land (2.5 ha for cane and
0.3 ha for growing maize under irrigation) than before amalgamating the land into a
scheme. In addition, in terms of welfare, farmers have improved their income. Every
farmer member gets a gross income of MK12,000 but after deducting fertilizer loans
and casual labour charges, she receives a net average of about MK5,000 per month
(US$36).
Farmer 1 reported that she has really benefited from Fairtrade which she seemed to
understand very well. She pointed out a number of specific benefits:
She Built a house with iron sheets with Fairtrade Premium benefits
She has been bought more iron sheets which she wants to use for building a
smaller house for her children
She already moulded some bricks for the small house
She has also requested for 11 bags of cement (This is worth MK29,700 at
current cement price about US$209.15)
She has acquired two push bikes with Fairtrade Premium funds
Food security is ensured and she always has enough maize for the family.
However, she indicated that the only challenge was the fight for irrigation
water due to the heat in the area. Growing maize in winter (March – August)