Karonga, Malawi – Regina Mukandawire has been growing bananas on her small farm in the Karonga district in northern Malawi for more than 16 years. But heatwaves, floods and disease outbreaks that have hit the country since 2010 have gradually reduced her yields from half a tonne to only a few buckets per harvest.
“If it’s extremely hot, ripe bananas will quickly rot, meaning you won’t be able to sell them,” the 38-year-old mother of six told Al Jazeera. “Again, when floods happen, the trees are affected, and heavy storms can actually destroy a whole farm.”
