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| Droughts in Chikwawa District |
This week our journalist from Malawi provides a special report on Agriculture and harvests outcomes in the growing season of 2020/2021. Malawi is generally known as a land-locked Country which has a population of about 20 Millions people with over 16 tribes across the country.
Out of the total number of people, 80% of them depend on Farming Activities. Most of them grow maize which is a main crop and easy to handle in the country.
During early of this year’s raining season, Malawi Government through the Ministry of Agriculture announced that the country is expecting to have bumper yields this year of about 5 Millions metric tons.
To make sure that this was to be possible the government launched a Farm Inputs Subsidy Program which targeted about 4.5 Families/individuals. The number was to benefit from cheap Fertilizers, and seeds.
It was in the month of January when the Minister of Agriculture Honourable Robin Lowe announced in the August House that the government till January 2021 managed to distribute the cheap farm items to about 4millions people out of 4.5 People.
Now after African News Magazine Journalist Heneleck Katsuko had a tour to appreciate how the crops are performing in the country. He visited Mwanza, Chikwawa and Phalombe Districts.
The results found were not that impressive as most farmers are crying that they will not have as expected whilst others said they have lost everything.
In his interviews met Mrs Gresiya Bauleni in Mwanza District and the woman complained that she will not harvest anything due to dry spell that has hit the District.
There have been no rains in Mwanza since December till February end when there was some showers and some storms.
The districts which have been hit heavily with the droughts are Chikwawa, Nsanje, Mwanza, Neno, Machinga, Parts of Salima, Karonga and some parts of Zomba districts.
On the other side there are districts that were hit by heavy storms that destroyed their crops completely like in Rumphi, Phalombe and Thyolo Districts.
In the districts where there was good rainfall, most farmers planted well but failed to apply Fertilizers due to lack of funds as the subsidized items did not reach them whilst other farmers commented that the cheap Fertilizers by the government was delivered very late in their areas.
Our journalist tried to contact Spokesman for Ministry of Agriculture to comment on the issues we found out and the possible position the government is going to take was not reached through his mobile phones on Saturday Afternoon on 5 March, 2021.
The Government this year released about 300 Billions Kwacha to shoulder Farming Activities this Farming calendar of 2020/2021 but it has not worked as expected due to the change in the climate and environment.
Malawi is expected to harvest about half of the expected figures announced earlier by the government last year.
