Mulanje, Malawi – Lawrence Abison walks along the bank of the Likhubula River, stopping every few metres to inspect the grass.

He eventually moves towards a patch of green Napier grass and reeds.

The 25-year-old takes out a sickle. With three friends, he starts cutting. They work through the morning, tying the grass into bundles, carrying them uphill and returning to the river for more.

They left Nsanjama, 27km away, at dawn.

After two hours of cutting, they had gathered enough grass to feed 10 cattle for one day.

Later that afternoon, dozens of other men carrying bundles of grass could be seen around Chitakale in Mulanje district. They had come from different directions, searching for fodder for cattle kept on farms across the district.

“It’s very hard to find the grass these days, that’s why we have travelled this long distance,” Abison told Al Jazeera, sweating. “Even here, the grass is not enough for a week and we need to proceed farther.”

The search for grass

The Likhubula River flows from Mount Mulanje, the 3,002-metre massif rising sharply from the plains of southern Malawi. The mountain is the highest point in tropical southern Africa and an important source of water for communities around it.

People living around the river say they have seen changes in the water and vegetation over the years. In some places, they say, the river has become shallower, while trees and grass along its banks have disappeared.

The changes are being felt by farmers who depend on the river, not only for water, but also for grass to feed their cattle.

Malawi experienced dry spells and high temperatures in parts of the country during the 2023/24 rainfall season, while El Nino affected rainfall patterns across southern Africa.

The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services warned then of below-normal rainfall and prolonged dry spells in parts of Malawi, with southern areas among those facing the increased threat of drought.

For farmers in Mulanje, the immediate problem is finding enough feed for their cattle.

A longer journey for cattle feed

Abison and other fodder gatherers say they have started making trips to the rivers earlier than they used to. Previously, they would cycle to the river after October. This year, they had already been making the journey for months.

They are also travelling farther.

That has brought them into competition with people living close to the rivers, who also depend on the vegetation. Reeds are used locally to make mats, while grass is needed to feed livestock.

Macdonald Khandalawo, 54, has kept cattle in Nsanjama, in the area of Traditional Authority Juma, since 2014. He has 10 cattle and sends men such as Abison to the rivers to collect grass.

He says the cost of keeping the animals has risen as the grass becomes harder to find.

“After the rains have stopped, we look for the grass around here but due to the change in climate there has been scarcity of grass. That is why we send these boys to those rivers,” Khandalawo said.

“It’s a long distance and sometimes they take the whole day.”

The lack of feed has affected his cows’ milk production, he said. The animals are eating less and the feed arrives later.

Maize bran, which farmers use to supplement grass, is also scarce and expensive, farmers say. Lower maize harvests have made the bran harder to afford.

Khandalawo also points to another pressure on the rivers: cultivation along their banks.

“Our complaint is that people are cultivating even in riverbanks. Previously, you would find plenty of reeds, plenty of grass, but now you can’t find it because some of our friends who grow vegetables are cultivating even where the water is,” he said.

“Because of that, the water is drying up faster and grass is scarce.”

“If possible, we want it to be like before where people were not allowed to cultivate beyond some metres in the riverbanks. Most of our rivers have no vegetation,” he added.

A changing landscape

Khandalawo is treasurer of the New Thuchira Milk Bulking Group, a cooperative with up to 400 farmers. The group collects milk from members, preserves it and sells it to commercial processors.

It also gives farmers a place to exchange ideas on dealing with feed shortages.

Some collect maize stalks during harvest and keep them for periods when grass is scarce. Others collect the remains of peas and rice to add to the animals’ feed.

But the shortage is eating into farmers’ earnings.

In a normal month, Khandalawo makes more than one million Malawi kwacha ($577) from milk sales. Recently, much of that money has gone back into the farm to pay fodder gatherers and buy maize bran.

He is no longer certain how long he can keep the herd under the current conditions.

Rivers under pressure

Near the Likhubula River, in Supuni Village under Traditional Authority Chikumbu, 57-year-old Batson Kweluza has watched fodder gatherers come and go for years.

He has also watched the landscape change.

Kweluza was weeding in his vegetable garden when he pointed towards the river.

“In the past, it was always dark even during the daytime because of the canopy that was created from the trees here,” he said.

The trees are gone in many places, he said, and the river has become shallow enough for people to cross without removing their shoes.

“Now even rains don’t come as they used to because of those trees that have been cut and people can cross that river without even taking off their shoes.”

In Nkando, 25-year-old Alefa Saulo is watching a similar change on her own farm.

She raises bulls and sells them after about a year. Her three cows, however, are getting thinner.

She pays two boys about MK50,000 each ($29) to help with the work on her farm, but they have not shown up for two days because of illness.

Waiting for it to pour

Saulo is waiting for the rains. She hopes they will come soon enough for the grass to grow and the cattle to regain weight.

She watches them as they feed.

“As a farmer, I always get concerned because when the animals are eating and looking healthy, I am also happy,” Saulo said. “But now I am sad. The animals are hungry but I can’t give them food.”