Usually, the market stalls at Goliati in southern Malawi’s Thyolo district, are bustling. The region is known for its fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes and cabbages. However, things have not been easy for the locals over the past few months.
One such local, a single mother who could get by from growing tomatoes on half an acre of land, stated: “Things are not all right now; everything has gone up. The prices of fertilizers and herbicides have gone up, and when we come here to sell, very few vendors are coming to buy.”
With less fertilizer, her yield from the poor soil she has tilled year after year has significantly reduced in 2022, almost by a quarter.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has affected the availability and affordability of fertilizer, of which both countries are major producers. Prewar, 50kg of fertilizer was 22,042 Malawian kwacha (about £19). In April it rose to 49,000 kwacha; this month, the price reached 65,000 kwacha.
In Blantyre, one tomato vendor says soaring prices from the farmers mean she is making a loss for the first time in years. “We buy at higher prices from farmers and when we come here we’re making losses,” she says. “At first, a dish of tomato was at 13,000 kwacha; now we buy it at 28,000. People don’t have money, so it is a difficult situation for everyone.”
Source: theguardian.com