Nsanje, Malawi – When Davie Kampira, 34, a farmer in Nsanje, southern Malawi, received 34 banana suckers in 2024, he did not envisage that the few dozen plants he tried out on a run-down piece of land, previously used for brickmaking, would transform into a small estate. Today, two years later, the land beside the river has produced nine hectares of different banana varieties, along with houses, a shop and a better life for his two children and wife.
"Banana farming is much better than maize because I am able to harvest every eight months, and I have been earning more compared with when I was growing maize," said Kampira, who sells a bunch for 25,000 Malawian kwacha (€12.61), while holding a large, mature green banana bunch on his farm in Fatima, Traditional Authority Mlolo, in Nsanje district.
