BGS geochemists Louise and Kate recently took a trip to Malawi to join agricultural scientists and nutrition experts to study the factors that can impact the nutritional benefit of foods grown and eaten by the Malawian population (recent paper). Here they tell us more about the exciting trip and the ongoing joint research between BGS, University of Nottingham and collaborators in Malawi...
We were greeted by heavy rains when we landed in Malawi but they cleared in time for our drive to the north of the country to Mzuzu, a city with all the hustle and bustle of commerce, markets and a thriving university - where staff and students are working on programmes to ensure good sanitation and maintaining quality water supplies form pumps and well.
We visited the SMART centre at the University, where Rochelle Holm gave us an overview of activities since our previous visit last May and Chrissie was kind enough to show us around the WASH demonstration area, with examples of wells and ground pumps and water filters, and latrines and composting solutions (photo left).
We shared experiences between our institutes on how we collect data on private drinking water supplies by travelling together to some local villages with hand-pumps installed, and demonstrating to each other the types of information we typically gather.
Colleagues at the Mzuzu University Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation taught us about a mobile app they’d developed to perform questionnaires with a smartphone. This innovative tool allows for digital data to be collected, and referenced, for all their fieldwork in the area.
Rainy season in Malawi means being careful not to get the vehicle stuck up a road that might become impassable in heavy storms. Here is the view from the back of our 4x4 as, with perfect timing, we finish up at that village and depart with the storm clouds gathering.
We also caught up with our long-standing collaborator Dr Allan Chilimba, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Lunyangwa Research Station, Mzuzu. We walked the experimental fields, and were particularly pleased to see Edward Joy’s pot experiment of maize looking very healthy (photo below left).
Maize is a really important crop for the people of Malawi, so improving the supply and quality can make a real difference to the people that rely on it. For more information on the importance of micronutrients and health, see one of Edward’s previous blogs. After such a great time in northern Malawi, we travelled back south via the lake road, taking time to admire the geological splendours of the southern end of the East African rift valley – and of course the lake itself!
Back in Lilongwe, we caught up with staff at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources –LUANAR (formerly Bunda College) for the day and see all the exciting new initiatives that they have and current research projects on soil and crop assessment and micronutrient status.
Later we meet with the LUANAR soil scientists in a visit that was an equivalent of that to Zambia and Zimbabwe, previously undertaken by some of our other colleagues (see Michael's blog). We are all involved in helping to develop a PhD training programme for Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The idea is that in the future students will have opportunities to primarily study in their home country and also benefit from additional skills transfer through annual placements in the University of Nottingham, BGS, and the partner African countries. This type of work could really strengthen the academic and scientific communities in these countries, and is a great opportunity for UK scientists to experience working with overseas counterparts too.
After two weeks we bid farewell– and it was certainly a great trip to Malawi, with the warmth and hospitality that we have come to know so well and we look forward to continuing to work with all those we visited in the years to come!
Thanks
Kate & Louise
We visited the SMART centre at the University, where Rochelle Holm gave us an overview of activities since our previous visit last May and Chrissie was kind enough to show us around the WASH demonstration area, with examples of wells and ground pumps and water filters, and latrines and composting solutions (photo left).
We shared experiences between our institutes on how we collect data on private drinking water supplies by travelling together to some local villages with hand-pumps installed, and demonstrating to each other the types of information we typically gather.
 |
| Kate demonstrating the filtration of a small sample volume typically used in BGS to gather information on the chemistry of waters |
Rainy season in Malawi means being careful not to get the vehicle stuck up a road that might become impassable in heavy storms. Here is the view from the back of our 4x4 as, with perfect timing, we finish up at that village and depart with the storm clouds gathering.
We also caught up with our long-standing collaborator Dr Allan Chilimba, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Lunyangwa Research Station, Mzuzu. We walked the experimental fields, and were particularly pleased to see Edward Joy’s pot experiment of maize looking very healthy (photo below left).
 |
| Healthy looking maize |
Back in Lilongwe, we caught up with staff at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources –LUANAR (formerly Bunda College) for the day and see all the exciting new initiatives that they have and current research projects on soil and crop assessment and micronutrient status.
 |
| Storm clouds gathering |
Later we meet with the LUANAR soil scientists in a visit that was an equivalent of that to Zambia and Zimbabwe, previously undertaken by some of our other colleagues (see Michael's blog). We are all involved in helping to develop a PhD training programme for Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The idea is that in the future students will have opportunities to primarily study in their home country and also benefit from additional skills transfer through annual placements in the University of Nottingham, BGS, and the partner African countries. This type of work could really strengthen the academic and scientific communities in these countries, and is a great opportunity for UK scientists to experience working with overseas counterparts too.
Thanks
Kate & Louise
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