In the beginning of 2019, the Restore the Harvest board decided it would be important to pursue building relationships with agricultural organizations already working in Malawi. Farming is the backbone of Malawi’s economy and in recent years the country has made efforts to unite and improve the industry. We want to work with those organizations to make lasting change in rural Malawi. Restore the Harvest met with the Lilongwe District government veterinarians to develop vaccination plans for the Mtembe village livestock - specifically goats. The government veterinarians are a great resource for villages. However, far too often rural villages and organizations don’t have direct lines of communication so although there are resources available they aren’t being used.
In addition to veterinarians we also were welcomed by the Animal Science Department at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources where we discussed bio-security and the availability of purebred livestock in Malawi. There they shared their growing concern of African Swine Flu. The epidemic has caused them to wipe out their swine operation twice in the past two years. Under the advisement of their staff we will begin our village swine improvement projects next!