By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, April 14, Mana: Senior Chief Kaomba of Kasungu has called for more investments in irrigation farming to avert the famine that threatens thousands of families in the district following poor rains in the 2023/24 season.

He said this on Saturday during a field day organised by Seed-Co Malawi at Chilanga in Chipala Extension Planning Area (EPA) in Kasungu district.

Kaomba said it is hard to fight hunger when farming is only done in three to four months in a year followed by eight to nine months of idleness.

He said: “Farmers must get into clubs, establish anchor farms and start serious irrigation farming. We must ensure that every irrigable land is put to full use so that farmers are busy throughout the year.

“With the climatic changes, farmers must be keen to follow advice from the Ministry of Agriculture through extension workers on the use of modern farming techniques including manure making and planting hybrid seeds.”

Kaomba said when farmers get into groups, they can easily access irrigation equipment through Agriculture Commercialization (AGCOM) and the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) to enable them produce enough crops for food and commercial purposes.

Seed-Co Malawi Agronomy Manager, James Mtiyesa, said they organized the field day to showcase to farmers the hybrid varieties that can be adopted in the face of changing climatic patterns.

He said: “Our key message is that we have a variety of hybrids for farmers and we urge these farmers to adopt them because they are very good in terms of tolerance to dry spells.

“We want farmers to make money out of their work and this can be achieved if they adopt hybrid seeds which are on their own a promise that whoever plants them will have a bumper harvest and make money out of their farming.”

Kasungu is one of the 23 districts where President Lazarus Chakwera declared a state of disaster due to dry spells induced by El nino weather condition.

The dry spells have affected about 750, 000 hectares of maize representing 44.3 percent of the country’s crop area, putting at least 2 million farming households in the line of famine.