In flood-prone Malawi, bananas become a shield against erosion

When Davie Kampira, 34, a farmer in Nsanje, southern Malawi, received 34 banana suckers in 2024, he did not envisage that the few dozen plants he tried out on a run-down piece of land, previously used for brickmaking, would transform into a small estate. Today, two years later, the land beside the river has produced nine hectares of different banana varieties, along with houses, a shop and a better life for his two children and wife.

By Charles Pensulo in Malawi