The major crop is maize (corn), which they grind into flour, add water and eat like a thick paste (encima). They usually put a tomato-based relish on top prepared with either onions, spinach or fish. This consists of about 75-90% of most rural peoples diet. The plant the maize seeds about 2-3 together and one foot apart. Usually no fertilizer is used (too expensive) and yields are extremely low. Cassava is also grown planted from sticks about 10 inches long and just pushed in loose soil. It is harvested in about 10 months ground, cyanide leached out and cooked into a glue like substance, eaten as is. The staple in the northern part of the country. Peanuts are grown by planting the seed in loose soil, no fertilizer is added and they are harvested and roasted, or usually sold to gain currency a rare possession in rural areas.
Animals are rarely used in agriculture here. They are used to pull wagons though. Mostly cows and a few donkeys, and then usually as a small business. In other parts of Africa they use camels, cows and donkeys to plow with but not here. All by hand. The livestock industry here is very small. There are more people than chickens and more 1,000 people per cow. Very few sheep (too hot and they are not "tough enough-). Goats are prevalent Although, they are usually sold by the rural people to the city people that eat them. They do not drink the milk of either the cows or the goats they are not used to drinking milk past weaning, so it makes them sick if they do.
When you look at the "developed countries- and see where agriculture is and then look at "developing countries- and how far they are behind in adoption of modern techniques it really brings home the reason that so many people are starving every day. .
Malawi has about 12,000,000 people (about 3,000,000 farm families is what they estimate, but many of these are headed by mere children, single mothers or the very old).
