By Khumbo Kaliwo, Thomas Chilaya & Jarson Malowa:
Agriculture extension workers, who are at the heart of the country’s food security efforts as they work with smallholder farmers at the grass roots level, have gone decades without promotion, The Daily Times has learned.
This is in apparent contradiction to provisions of the Civil Service Act, which stipulates that promotion within the civil service requires a minimum number of years served at a current grade alongside satisfactory performance evaluations.
One extension worker in Zomba District, who opted for anonymity for fear of reprisals, said he had been working in the position, which falls under Grade K, for over 15 years—with no recognition through promotion.
“I just hear that civil servants are evaluated, after which one’s immediate supervisors make recommendations to the Ministry [of
Agriculture]. I have never been evaluated; not once.
“How can we be motivated to do the job that way? It is not fair,” said the worker.
In Blantyre District, two agriculture extension workers lamented that some of them were leaving the civil service to seek greener pastures in non-governmental organisations and the private sector due to lack of incentives.
“There are no promotions for us. If anything, we only get salary increments through budgetary allocations in Parliament, as opposed to through other acceptable mechanisms such as promotion.
“Who can stay in a job where they are not appreciated? That is why some of us are against the 20 percent salary increment that civil servants’ representatives have agreed upon with members of the Government Negotiation Team (GNT),” said a female extension worker.
She said she knew of people who had been on the same grade, namely Grade K, for over 16 years.
Tuesday, such claims were corroborated in Lilongwe, where Agriculture Extension Development Coordinator (AEDC) for Nyanja Extension Planning Area (EPA) Thembani Kadeka and others had a meeting with senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Kadeka said they wanted the government to introduce an upward grade for them as a way of improving their welfare.
“We are pleading for promotion as there are others who are retiring on the same grade on which they were employed 30 years ago,” Kadeka said.
He further lamented poor housing, saying most extension workers were staying in ramshackle houses.
“Extension workers also face mobility challenges,” Kadeka said.
Kadeka said frequent meetings with Ministry of Agriculture officials would help the agriculture sector find ways of maximising food production.
He was quick to say they were happy that ministry officials were engaging them on issues they face, especially at a time some farmers needed their services due to the dry spell that has culminated in some maize wilting.
On his part, Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale—who led the ministry’s delegation— said they decided to meet with frontline workers in the agriculture industry to increase productivity and improve their living standards.
He said as the ministry shifts its focus from subsistence farming to commercial farming, their goal was to move together with frontline workers, who he described as key to the implementation of reforms in the sector.
“The meeting will help the ministry hear from them about some of the challenges they face and solutions they would like to provide for us to implement,” Kawale said
He revealed that starting from the month of May, which is after harvesting, the government would support every farmer who has the ability to go into irrigation with funds, inputs and equipment.
“The government is providing incentives to anyone who wants to bring equipment for mechanisation into the country,” Kawale said.
Ministry officials have since indicated that they will meet with 2,000-plus extension workers in all the eight agricultural development divisions of the country.
According to International Food Policy Research Institute (Afpri), there are more than 120 organisations and programmes in Malawi working on agriculture that include extension service provision among their main activities.
“However, extension service provision is largely ‘projectised’, uncoordinated and unmonitored… Agricultural extension is one of those complementary services and systems. In early 2015, extension services were highlighted as the priority area for increasing agricultural productivity during the extensive consultation process on the content of the National Agriculture Policy, which involved representatives from a broad range of agricultural stakeholder groups coming from 28 districts.
“…in response, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development initiated a study that looks at the issues and constraints facing the country’s extension system. With financial support from the government of Flanders, the German agency for international development, and survey support from the United States Agency for International Development-funded Strengthening Agricultural and Nutrition Extension project, a three-year project entitled ‘Assessing and Enhancing the Capacity, Performance and Impact of the Pluralistic Agricultural Extension System in Malawi’ was initiated in 2016,” AFPRI indicates.
The National Statistical Office indicates that agriculture is a major contributor to Malawi’s economy, directly accounting for about one-third of gross domestic product, in addition to providing 90 percent of export earnings.
NSO statistics further indicate that the sector contributes 30 percent to gross domestic product.
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