Government Implements K330 million Food Security Project for Flood-Prone Communities in Nsanje
The 800-meter-long Chimwala-mbangu Irrigation Scheme is supported by two solar-reticulated boreholes, a 2700-cubic-meter dam fed by the Chimwala River, and a 2700-cubic-meter reservoir.
Malawi: The government of Malawi, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA), is implementing a K329 million kwacha food security project for people in the flood-prone area, so communities in the Senior Chief Malemia area of Nsanje can finally say goodbye to food insecurity in their homes, writes Moses Thole.
With funding from the Africa Development Bank, the Post Cyclone Idai Emergency Recovery and Resilience Project (PCIREP) is being carried out, and 500 farmers are currently staying there.
During a press conference, Commissioner for DODMA Charles Kalemba said, "The Shire Valley has the potential to be the food basket for the country. With the effects of climate change, it is a gamble to rely on rain-fed agriculture. We need to embrace irrigation farming to address the challenges of food insecurity."
Farmers can use the 200 hectares of land allotted by the project to grow millet, rice, maize, beans, groundnuts, and other crops for both commercial and subsistence uses.
Givemore Zambasa, the chairman of the Chimwala-Mbangu Irrigation Scheme, reported that 500 farmers have already used 120 of the 200 hectares allotted to more than 818 farming families.
Chisomo Mpachika, 35, a resident of Mbangu village, expressed her gratitude for the project's arrival at a time when she was having financial difficulties.
"In the past, I couldn't harvest enough for my children. My husband abandoned us in 2010, and it has been hard to feed and take care of all of us. But when the PCREP came in the area, in a space of 6 months, I have cultivated, sold my produce, and bought four goats," said Mpachika.
Senior Chief Malemia counsels irrigation scheme participants to demonstrate a sense of ownership by, among other things, safeguarding it so they can grow crops at least three times annually to combat hunger in their homes.
Jacob Moyo, the head of irrigation at the Nsanje District Council, claimed that most farmers are not independent because they lack the knowledge to use modern farming techniques and are unable to purchase farm inputs on their own because of the extreme poverty in the region.
Since then, Moyo has made an appeal to well-wishers to help the farmers by providing them with fresh farming methods and farm inputs for the upcoming growing season.
"Aside from crops, the farmers will also start fish farming because we have set aside some land where they will dig ten ponds for the purpose. This will help them to supplement their diet with fish," he added.
The 800-meter-long Chimwala-mbangu Irrigation Scheme is supported by two solar-reticulated boreholes, a 2700-cubic-meter dam fed by the Chimwala River, and a 2700-cubic-meter reservoir.
Group Village Heads Mbangu and Mwanda under Senior Chief Malemia, who did not previously have access to clean water, have also benefited from the dam's opening.