2019 One Planet Laureate Candidate Dr. Austin Phiri Austin Phiri is a Chief Agricultural Research Scientist at the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Water, Malawi. Austin is promoting legumes to improve soil fertility and increase maize productivity through his research.

One Planet Laureate Candidate Building Malawi's Smallholder's Resilience to Climate Change

Declining soil fertility continues to be one of the leading causes of food insecurity among smallholder farm households in Malawi.

The situation is further exacerbated by deforestation and land degradation, which undermine the livelihoods of farming communities.

Austin addresses this problem by promoting inoculants to enhance legume productivity and combined use of manure and micro-doses of fertilizers and legume intercropping.

For many of Malawi’s smallholder farmers, mineral fertilizers are beyond their purchasing power, which was one of the triggers for Austin’s research.

His research focuses on improving soil health by promoting legumes to increase soil fertility.

One of his recent research projects was on improving nitrogen efficiency through intercropping pigeon peas, sorghum, groundnuts, and maize.

The study produced excellent results on improved soil fertility by indicating increased nitrate-nitrogen in the soil due to legume cropping over the years, which improves the farmers' yields.

Austin is currently part of a project aiming to upscale select technologies that enhance the soil’s organic matter to facilitate water retention and promote fertility.

He notes that researchers should recognize the needs and priorities of the different gender groups through inclusive consultation to ensure parity in their research findings.

Appreciate

Credits:

AWARD