Adverse climatic conditions, low agricultural productivity and poverty contribute to widespread food insecurity of Malawi’s rural population. The Malawi Lake Basin Programme began in January 2006 and reflects a long-term commitment towards sustainable rural livelihoods development. The program assists in the establishment of professional extension and advisory services to smallholder farmers, micro-finance and value chain development activities. The Swedish Cooperative Centre, Vi Agroforestry Regional Office and the Norwegian Embassy contracted UNIQUE to assess the feasibility of accessing climate finance based on a model recently piloted agriculture carbon project in Kenya and on the recently approved Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) accounting methodology.

• Identification of potential project region and assessment of climate vulnerability.
• Carbon finance eligibility assessment considering the newly approved VCS methodology VM0017.
• Defining suitable packages of specific “Sustainable Agricultural Land Management” interventions.
• Estimation of yield response and climate mitigation and adaptation benefits.
• Development of business model together with program consortium.
• Analysis of the economic feasibility from a farmer and project perspective.
• Support the identification of potential investors.