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Abstract
This brief reflects on the cases of two villages in Lingoni section, Domasi EPA in Machinga district, combined with literature review and key informant interviews, to highlight the significant contribution of village-level responsible governance in enhancing agroecological intensification amongst small holders. The study reveals that through using village by-laws as tools, successful control of free grazing of livestock and uncontrolled fires has been prevented for many years, allowing local cropping systems to embrace long season crops such as cassava and pigeon peas, and winter cropping including multiple cropping with irrigation. The full range of resulting agroecological benefits are presented and discussed including the trade-offs from all sides of the systems.