Emerging rutile and graphite developer Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) reports its Conservation Farming Program in Malawi is on track to tripling average conventional crop yields despite the El Niño weather phenomenon.
The program, which is being undertaken as part of the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy while developing the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project, is aimed at improving the livelihoods of local communities through the creation of smallholder farmers.
Up to 90 farmers have taken part in the program and are being trained in low-input-cost, high-yield sustainable farming techniques. The 90 farmers comprise 50% women and 10% vulnerable people. A further 300 farmers are expected to be added to the program during the 2024 planting season.
The program is being implemented by Sovereign’s team on the ground, which previously ran a similar program for First Quantum Minerals’ (TSX:FM) Zambian operations, where its conservation farming program has been effectively operating since 2010.
Between 2020 and 2022 harvest crops increased by 67% from 6,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes of maize, with more than 7,000 farmers in the program at the end of 2022.
According to Sovereign, which has a $264.61 million market capitalisation, its preliminary yield estimates have been undertaken through a cob-count and sizing exercise of all 90 farmers, with yields conservatively estimated at 3.2 tonnes-per-hectare.
The result has been returned at a time in which Malawi’s crop yields were expected to be 22.5% lower due to El Niño.
Increases in maize production will be quantified in the coming months during the May 2024 harvest season.
Managing Director Frank Eagar says the results are testament to the company’s Kasiya Project, which he says will continue to have positive impacts on the local communities of southern Africa.
“At a time when Malawi and other southern African countries are facing severe drought due to weather conditions, Sovereign takes its social responsibility very seriously and is already delivering tangible benefits for the local community,” he says.
Sovereign Metals is focused on its flagship Kaisya project, which is considered to be the world’s largest natural rutile deposit.
Rutile is the most common and stable form of titanium dioxide found in nature and is a key ingredient in paint, as well as a useful component in optical equipment, according to the Minerals Education Coalition.
As of 31 December 2023, the company had about $39.436 million in cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest half yearly financial report.
Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au
Images: Sovereign Metals
