UNIMA’s CRAFS awards Grants to boost community Agri-Food Innovations

The University of Malawi’s Centre for Resilient and Agri-Food Systems (CRAFS) has awarded grants ranging from US$ 4, 500 to US$ 7, 500 to seven local enterprises that were successful under the Community Action Research Projects for Enterprise Development (CARP-E) initiative, implemented under ACE II AF.

The event, held at the Little Theatre on 8th August 2025, was graced by Professor Cosmo Ngongondo, Executive Dean of the School of Natural and Applied Sciences who is also the Director of the CRAFS Centre. Also in attendance were the CRAFS Deputy Director, Dr. Maurice Monjerezi, and other staff members.

Speaking on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ngongondo congratulated all the recipients, noting that the CARP-E initiative is the first of its kind at UNIMA.

He described the grants as a significant step towards the shared mission of transforming innovative ideas, including sustainable agri-food enterprises, into ventures that can contribute meaningfully to Malawi’s economic development and food security.

 “The CARP-E call was designed to support innovative, sustainable, and locally driven solutions, and encouraged recipients to learn from one another and share ideas. As such, while CRAFS runs several initiatives aimed at utilising existing knowledge, the CARP-E call specifically targeted community-level ideas or innovations with the potential to become marketable and commercialised,” explained Ngongondo.

One of the grant recipients, Ms. Rita Kumwenda of Parah Enterprise in Zomba, who received US$ 5, 500, expressed her gratitude to the Centre.

She stated that the funding will enable the enterprise to purchase various equipment, including a processing machine to be used in mushroom value-addition, which will in turn increase their overall output.

The centre received 200 applications and selected the seven best ideas for further development towards commercialisation at the community level.

CRAFS remains committed to stimulating and supporting research and development for holistic solutions focusing on agri-food systems and nutrition, agricultural risk management, and climate change resilience.