Farmers that have been negatively affected by the El Nino weather condition, which has hindered the output of crops such as maize, have resorted to irrigation as the plausible way out.
This came to the fore when public and private sector officials visited Chikwawa District, where Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and Danish Church Aid (DCA) have teamed up to offer community members a lifeline.
Other districts that are benefitting from the programme include Mchinji, Kasungu, Dowa and Chikwawa, where 6,000 smallholder farmers have received seeds and livestock.
The NCA-DCA Malawi Joint Country Programme is using financial support from Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, through a Nansen Grant, to implement the one-year ‘Faith in Farmers: Boosting Local Production in Malawi’ Project.
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One of the farmers, Marita Jingeni from Tabwa1 Village in Chikwawa District, said vegetables she has been cultivating using drip irrigation have enabled her to sell some and fend for her family.
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“The vegetables have not just enabled me to achieve food security at the household level, I am also in a position to buy uniforms and learning materials for my children, thereby according them a chance to go to school.
“I am sure that my child, who is in form three, will be able to meet her educational goals,” Jingeni said.
Peter Symon, who is a member of Mvunguti Farmers Club, echoed the sentiments.
“I am happy that after being taught about drip irrigation, we have also acquired knowledge in livestock production,” said Symon, who is part of the 15-member club.
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“We believe that, through teamwork, we will be able to realise a lot of profits from crops and the 86 goats we rear. We started with 75 goats and the goats keep on increasing,” he said.
Emmanuel Mabedi, agronomist for NCA/DCA, said the farmers have started seeing the benefits of the initiative.
“In addition to the designed project interventions, which include distribution of goats to the farmers, support with micro-investment drip irrigation and enhanced linkages and access to markets, the project is proving K114,000,000 each to 1,200 beneficiaries with a once-off multipurpose cash transfer targeting project beneficiaries in Chikwawa District to cushion them from the effects of food insecurity,” he said.
