Total Land Care to plant 7.3 million trees
Total Land Care (TLC) Malawi has said it is planning to plant 7.3 million trees during the ongoing tree planting season in districts it is implementing its conservation agriculture projects.
TLC’s mandate is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the region, with a focus on community-based approaches to increase agricultural production, food security and incomes within a context that ensures sound management of their natural resources.
Speaking when the organisation launched its 2017-18 tree planting season activities in Dowa on Friday, TLC Managing Director, Zwide Jere, said the trees to be planted are meant to benefit over 80,000 households in the country.
“We have selected this place because it is a hilly area and people are cultivating right on top of the hills. So, we thought it is the right place where we can demonstrate to the general public and to the people of Dowa that it is possible to redress these degraded areas,” Jere said.
He said Total Land Care engages the communities in the selection of tree planting site and thereafter provides the seedlings to ensure that the people own and take care of the trees.
Dowa District Education Desk Officer, Joseph Chafukira, who represented the District Commissioner, said the tree planting exercise is necessary to the district, which has a lot of bare mountains.
“People were cutting trees carelessly and we are now lacking the environment of tree cover. Looking at climate change, we are facing a lot of problems in terms of the rains,” Chafukira said.
Traditional Authority Chiwere said the local leaders in his area would introduce by-laws that would include fines to be paid by people who will be setting bushfires and cutting down trees needlessly.
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