Machinga Agriculture Development Division (ADD) says there are hopes for improved food security and high crop yield production for smallholder farmers in the district following the implementation of Climate Smart Agriculture project.
The project is implemented by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre and International Water Management Institute.
Speaking during a field visit organized for the authorities to appreciate crop fields under climate smart project in the area of Sub Traditional Authority Kachenga, Programs Manager for Machinga ADD, Adreck Bernard Banda, expressed satisfaction on how farmers are responding to the project in the district.
According to Banda, despite various challenges, which smallholder farmers are facing, it is important to embrace technology farming so that farmers can benefit from their work.
“Malawi as a country depends much on agriculture, but because of some challenges like Cyclones, climate change and floods among others, our agricultural system has been greatly affected. With the coming of this project, farmers have been imparted with knowledge on how to practice climate change adaptation farming as one way of boosting food security in our country, so here the future looks promising as farmers are able to apply knowledge imparted in them,” he said.
Cassim Masi, one of the beneficiaries of the project, said for 15 years of practicing climate smart agriculture, has benefited compared to the past years where his farming was not bearing fruits.
“This type of farming is very easy to follow because it does not waste much of our time, and even without enough rainfall we are able to harvest high crop yield because this type of farming keeps moisture on the ground that enables our crops to grow health that now am able to harvest high crop yield on the same piece of land i used to harvest very little yields before this project,” explained Masi.
Principal Cropping Systems Agronomist at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, Dr Christian Thierfelder, says the project aims at addressing one of the critical challenges that smallholder farmers face as far as adaptation to climate change agriculture is concerned.
“We have been implementing this research for 18 years with improved technologies and farmers have been exploring the technologies by themselves and a lot of farmers are now benefiting from the initiative,” said Thierfelder.
Among other things, the project has also improved legume production systems and livestock farming in six districts in the southern and central region parts of Malawi.
