IARD student finished his Field Research in Malawi, Africa

Sebastian Riera Field research in Malawi Africa

The topic of the research is: “Dissemination of Groundnut seeds: An analysis of the National Agriculture Research Systems in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia”. Originally, Tanzania was included in the research. Due to time and transportation constraints, the country was dismissed from his work.
During the three-month research in sub-Saharan Africa, the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) hosted and supported his research.
Most of the time, he was based in Lilongwe, Malawi but in order to interview relevant authorities in the Agricultural sector, he travelled to Maputo and Chipata. The former is the Capital of Mozambique and represents the agriculture research hub of the country. The latter, belongs to the Eastern Province of Zambia and is the most productive agriculture area of the country.




"My social and cultural experience with the local communities was outstanding. In general, Malawians are very friendly people; who will always be curious about an azungu (person of white skin). Normally, they will try to interact with a foreign person. Any attempt to speak the local language (Chichewa) will provoke an unexpected reaction by the locals, who will notice the effort to greet in their mother tongue local and will be happy about it. So happy, that they will continue speaking Chichewa, assuming that foreign knows more than just the greetings"




Personally, I had the opportunity to join the football team of ICRISAT that led me a unique possibility to interact with my colleagues outside working hours. I realized why Malawi is so called as ‘The Warm Heart of Africa’.



"I had the opportunity to explore the country. Although, I visited the most touristic places in Malawi their location is still remote. Reaching the beautiful destinations of Lake Malawi or Mount Mulanje represent a truly African experience. Since the transportation means are not well developed, the estimated time of arrival is just a myth. At the end of the day, the paradisiac view and vivid local communities pays off the effort".



Summarizing, the possibility to do my field research in sub-Saharan Africa allowed me to experience, in person, the daily life of farm households and made me understand the altruistic goal of agricultural research in Africa. I believe this was a life-long enriching phase that gave me a greater comprehension of extreme situations and certain aspects that are not visible from a single point of view.
Neither of this academic work, activities and experience would have been possible without the support of the DAAD, ICRISAT and GAUG. Therefore, I am very grateful and I expect that my professional work will return the material and non-material investments done in my person.