By Tikondane Vega

Blantyre, April 3, Mana: Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Michael Usi has called on African countries to decisively priorities biodiversity conservation in the national budget and demonstrate commitments in preserving rich biodiversity for sustainable economic development of their respective countries.

The minister said this in Blantyre on Wednesday during the opening of the 10^th African Regional Dialogue on Biodiversity Finance which has attracted 18 African countries including Botswana, Comoros, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Usi said while considering the importance of biodiversity to social and economic development, it is sad to note that biodiversity expenditure is the smallest of the total national budget in most countries yet financial needs assessments reveal that millions of dollars are needed to manage biodiversity-specific goals effectively.

He, therefore, said increasing budget expenditure for biodiversity conservation was not only a moral imperative but also an investment in collective future.

“At the last conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, biodiversity finance plans featured highly on the agenda and the expectation is that countries will not just develop biodiversity finance plans but should also implement them and generate tangible financing for biodiversity.

“The success of this initiative will, therefore, be based on how much financial resources we make available for biodiversity. I, therefore, expect this meeting to reflect on biodiversity conservation and explore innovative ways in which it can be funded,” he said.

Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Simplex Chithyola Banda, said Malawi was making strides in financing ecosystem conservation as evidenced by allocation of resources in the 2024/2025 annual budget.

Banda observed knowledge gap on issues of biodiversity and expressed hope the meeting will address the knowledge gap so that Malawi will make informed decision when awarding contract and distribution of resources generated from the area.

“As you know biodiversity touches several economic sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries hence recognizing its importance, Malawi completed the task of tagging biodiversity in the national budget since previously biodiversity did not have codes in the government’s charts of account.

“Now we have developed biodiversity budgeting codes for Ministry of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs Department, Department of Water Resources and Department of Tourism. Development of biodiversity codes will enable allocation of funds for biodiversity conservation within the public finance system. Further the codes will enable expenditure tracking of biodiversity within the public finance system,” said Banda.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for Malawi, Fenella Frost, said Malawi has gone a significant mile in hosting esteemed delegates from 18 countries alongside distinguished team from the Global Office.

She said: “This underscores our collective commitment towards biodiversity conservation. This dialogue is an invaluable platform for experts in biodiversity finance across Africa and the UNDP- Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) Global Office to convene, share experiences, and gather insights into innovative resource mobilization strategies. Together, we aim to chart a sustainable course for biodiversity conservation.

“We are here to facilitate experience sharing and technical discussions among BIOFIN countries, leveraging our collective expertise to drive meaningful progress in biodiversity conservation. We also seek to share experiences and lessons learned on the effective implementation of finance solutions, drawing insights from global initiatives and emerging frameworks such as disclosure frameworks, subsidy repurposing, insurance mechanisms, and risk management strategies.

Malawi joined BIOFIN in 2019. The project is being managed through UNDP and is led by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change and the Ministry of Finance.

In the first phase of implementation from 2019 to 2022, the project developed a biodiversity finance plan which has 11 priority innovative solutions for funding biodiversity conservation, some of the solutions include: payment for ecosystems services; carbon marketing for biodiversity conservation; tagging biodiversity in the national budget; and recapitalization of statutory funds in the natural resources sector.

Meanwhile, Malawi is in the process of recruiting a consultant to undertake the feasibility study for the Payment for Ecosystems Services Scheme.

Malawi’s goal is to ensure that BIOFIN solutions shift from heavy reliance on funding from Government and Oversees Development Assistance to self-funded initiatives in executing conservation work.

By Austine Patrice Kachilika

Mzimba, April 2, Mana: M’mbelwa District Council Director of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Beatrice Mbakaya has advised farmers in Mzimba District against selling their agricultural produce to vendors as the district is anticipating hunger in some areas.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) on Tuesday, Mbakaya said the district has been greatly affected by dry spells which have contributed to the withering and underdevelopment of crops in Mzimba.

“Mzimba District registered over 20 days of dry spells during this growing season which contributed to stunted growth and withering of crops in several areas in the district. As such, farmers should know that we are likely to experience hunger in the coming months and should refrain from selling their grains to vendors at an early stage,” she said.

Mbakaya further advised farmers in the district to adopt climate resilient technologies for improved agricultural productivity and enhanced nutrition security.

She said: “It is high time farmers started adopting climate smart agriculture technologies such as manure production, drip irrigation, livestock keeping, genetic modified crops adoption and moisture retention methods.”

Mbakaya also urged farmers to grow drought tolerant crops such as cassava, cassava, millet and sweet potatoes which may act as a substitute for maize.

“People in the district should realise that maize is not the only source of carbohydrates, therefore, they must try out other alternatives in the wake of climate change shocks”, said Mbakaya.

Commenting on the matter, Group Village Head Venge Nyirenda asked community members to take heed of the advice to prevent hunger from striking their households.

One of the farmers, Ephrina Mvula said the advice has come at a right time because it will help most farmers weigh their options, whether to store their produce for future use or fall for money and face hunger.

By Andrew Mkonda

Lilongwe, April 1, Mana: It has been hell on earth for Major Lyton and Yamikani Dyless. Sleeping on an empty stomach, going from one place to another in search of pieces of work in order to find food, clothing and school materials on their own has been a part of their lives.

This is what has been characterizing the lives of young Lyton, aged 11, and Dyless, aged 13, born from different poor and irresponsible fathers in the area of Traditional Authority Chitekwere in Lilongwe District.

“Since our mother (Teresa Alick, aged 30) got married to another man, our lives have never been the same. My four siblings and I lack a lot of things in our lives, and this has even caused us to stop going to school.

“We do almost everything on our own through pieces of work, as our stepfather too depend on pieces of work for us to eat on a particular day. We go and herd cattle, goat and work in different farms just for our survival,” said Dyless with tears in his eyes.

He says recently he, together with Lyton, walked for about 80 kilometres (from T/A Chitekwele to T/A Chadza) just to find pieces of work for their survival.

 “We left our home and went to the area of T/A Chadza where we were employed to herd cattle. It was not easy at all because in most cases, we were herding the cattle in a thick forest bare footed and we were reporting back home very late without eating anything from morning to evening,” Dyless said.

After learning of this sad development, Lilongwe District Labour Office and other stakeholders teamed up to withdraw the two young boys from herding the cattle, describing it as child labour.

Lilongwe District Labour Officer Chiletso Mbewe has since singled out child abandonment and lack of support for the children as some of the factors fueling child labour in the district and the country at large.

“It is sad that many families, more especially in the rural areas, continue bearing many children that they cannot afford to take care of. This forces young children to go out and find pieces of work for their needs,” she said.

Malawi National Child Labour survey (2022) clearly shows that the vice continues to affect an estimated 2.1 million children, aged 5 to 17, representing a 38 percent of this age group.

These numbers clearly indicate that efforts in this regard need to be intensified and accelerated in order for the goal of child labour elimination to be reached in the nearest possible future.

The survey also revealed that child labour is higher among children from poor households and even among best-off households, as it shows that more than one in three children are in child labour.

In policy terms, this result suggests that a strategic response based on poverty reduction alone is unlikely to be effective in eliminating child labour.

The statistics further indicate that 72 percent of children, aged 5 to 17, works in agriculture sector, 23 percent in domestic sector and three percent are in wholesale.

In urban areas, less than half (46 percent) of those aged 5 to 17 work in agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, 11 percent are in wholesale and retail trade, 39 percent in domestic sector and four percent in other sectors.

Mbewe then urged parents and guardians to take care of their children by, among other things, providing for their needs such as food, clothing and good shelter so that they do not go out and work in hazardous places.

Said Mbewe: “Section 9 of the Childcare, Protection and Justice Act clearly states that where a parent or any other person who is legally liable to maintain a child or to contribute towards the maintenance of the child, neglects to maintain the child, neglects to maintain the child or to make the contribution, the following persons may apply against such person to the child justice court for a maintenance order of the child.”

She further said the Act also allows the child, the parent of the child, the guardian of the child, relatives of the child, a social welfare officer, a police officer, a teacher, a health officer, and any other appropriate person to apply against such persons to the children’s court for a child maintenance order.

 She then disclosed that Lilongwe District Council has already formulated by-laws that will deal with all parents and guardians that allow their young children to work in hazardous places like estates, mines and factories.

“These children we have repatriated and withdrawn, walked on foot for a distance of about 80 kilometres [from T/A Chitekwele to T/A Chadza] just to find pieces of work. They have been working as herd boys at that age. This clearly shows that these children are not taken care of by their parents. It’s quite pathetic,” she said.

Gikilosi Phiri, aged 32, admitted that he is failing to take care of his stepchildren because he is not working and that he doesn’t have any stable business to depend on.

“I depend on pieces of work to feed my family members. As you can see here, even our house doesn’t have door cover and we sleep like that. It’s not deliberate that these young children go out to look for pieces of work, but it’s the situation we are in that is forcing them,” he said.

Phiri has since asked Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), churches and well-wishers to assist the family with essential items such as food, clothing, beddings and some cash for the family to start a small business.

However, Malawi News Agency also observed that the family doesn’t even have a toilet, a bathing room and even their dwelling house doesn’t have privacy since the house doesn’t have separate bedrooms.

We also observed that there is no child that goes to school due to lack of required school materials such as bags, exercise books and pens.

We further noted that although Phiri’s family is passing through such a difficult situation, his wife is again expectant and very soon the number of family members in the house will be increased, thereby worsening the situation.

Group Village Headman Chinyama in the area of T/A Chitekwele thanked the district labour office for withdrawing the young boys from herding the cattle, saying their future would have been completely destroyed if the office had not intervened.

“It is pathetic to see young children like these working in such hard conditions while their friends are at school,” he said.

Chinyama further thanked the council for coming up with by-laws which he said will assist to protect children from hard labour.

He then warned his subjects against exploiting young children, saying the tendency is counterproductive.

“Send children to school so that they become productive citizens in the future and take part in developing their areas and the country at large,” he advised.

By Beatrice Bangula                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Blantyre, April 1, Mana: Statistics from Ministry of Health indicate that viral conjunctivitis, also known as Pink eye disease, has hit more than 12,000 people in the country.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe told Malawi News Agency that so far the disease has reached nearly all the districts in Malawi, adding that Karonga still tops the list with Lilongwe coming second.

Chikumbe added that Ministry of Health was trying all it can to contain the disease whose signs and symptoms include redness of the eyes, itching, watery eyes and pain in the eyes, among others.

“The disease is self-limiting that it goes on its own without requiring antibiotics within seven to ten days.  However, the ministry encourages people to immediately seek medical attention to treat symptoms and reduce suffering; antibiotic may be given to treat secondary infections,” he added.

Chikumbe added that Ministry of Health was conducting sensitization sessions with various groups to increase public awareness on how the disease is spread and how it can be prevented.

He added that health facilities across the country also provide treatment to cases and further promote hygiene and sanitation ways of preventing further transmission of the disease, saying hygiene is key in preventing about 52% of communicable diseases that include pink eye.

Meanwhile, Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) Executive Director George Jobe has called for more sensitization activities on the dangers of pink eye, adding that the disease has no medication and that it cures on its own after some time.

“Pink eye is highly contagious and affects human activities which include productivity. People cannot go to work, learners cannot go to school and healthcare workers cannot provide healthcare services when they themselves have pink eye disease,” Jobe said.

Pink eye disease was first reported in Karonga District in February this year before spreading further to other districts in central region and later to southern region.

By George Mponda

Karonga, March 31, Mana: Crops Officer for Karonga District Agriculture Development Office, Stocker Nundwe, has asked farmers in the district to plant early maturing crop varieties to lessen the impacts of weather unpredictability and flood disasters on their agriculture productivity.

Nundwe said this at Mwangulukulu Village in the area of Senior Chief Mwakaboko in Karonga on Friday during an agriculture field day organized by SeedCo.

Nundwe said Ministry of Agriculture wants three things for a farmer namely; food security, good nutrition and financial security.

He said the three can be achieved if farmers use early maturing seed that can withstand drought and suit the climate conditions of their area.

"This aligns with the government’s growing calls for farmers to practise climate smart agriculture, which includes planting early maturing crop varieties in our district which is hit with disasters annually," he said.

Agronomy Manager for SeedCo Malawi, James Mtiesa, appealed to farmers to select appropriate crop varieties based on their agro-ecological regions to maximise yields.

"It all starts with the right seed and on display today we had maize, soya and rice which mature early. Some crops do not need much rain and I can assure farmers that they will still get a bumper harvest even when grown on a small piece of land," said Mtiesa.

Some of the crops on display were Kalulu maize seed which matures in not more than 80 days and Signal 110 soya seed which matures in 104 days.

Mtiesa said farmers can harvest 50 bags and 28 bags per hectare of the maize and soya respectively.

“Nerica 4 rice seed matures in 100 days and can be grown everywhere since it does not need much water hauling in 32 bags from a hectare," he said.

Mtiesa stressed that by selecting appropriate early maturing varieties and diversifying crop choices, farmers can mitigate the risks associated with uncertain rainfall patterns and increase their chances of achieving a successful and bountiful harvest.

One of the farmers, Paliph Msukwa, said adopting hybrid seed varieties which mature early and are drought tolerant can be a solution to the problems faced by farmers in Karonga and help increase yields, food and nutrition security.