In the year 2000, led by the late Professor James Banda, a group of agricultural scholars and practitioners from the University of Malawi’s Bunda College (now Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources- LUANAR), driven by their passions to promote innovation in Malawi’s agricultural sector, founded TAPP Malawi. Together, they constituted the Registered Trustees of Agricultural Promotion Programme. Our organization was registered as a Malawian local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) under the Trustees Incorporation Act of Malawi (1962) in 2004. It was not until 2007 that TAPP Malawi was registered as a member of the Council for Non-Governmental Organizations in Malawi (CONGOMA), and later registered with the NGO Regulatory Authority in 2011.

Starting as a research-based organization, our initial work focused on livestock-related research activities to support the development and implementation of evidence-based interventions in rural communities in Malawi for sustainable livelihood improvement. As years went by, we came to note the wider range of challenges that the farming communities in Malawi face beyond low livestock productivity. We were then implored to conduct a thorough situation analysis in 2010 which led to an evidence-based understanding of the plight of the local farmer in Malawi. This analysis brought to light a wide range of factors contributing to low agricultural productivity both in crops and animals, leading to amplified poverty among the farmers.

Following the analysis, the scope of TAPP Malawi has since widened from only focusing on livestock-related interventions to a broader spectrum of farmers’ livelihood development. Despite our widening scope, we maintain our pride and strength as a leading livestock production and productivity organisation. We continue to take pride in implementing innovations in agriculture that are based on evidence and are tailored to the practical experiences of the farming communities we engage!