Malawi’s food production has suffered a double whammy this past year, drought and flooding. The result is a severe food shortage threatening more than six million people-that’s more than a third of the entire population
The government reckons this is the worst harvest for a decade and food aid’s going to be needed for up to nine months. Malawi’s importing essentials like maize to meet immediate needs but officials say stop-gap measures alone are not enough, there has to be a long-term plan too.
‘Hitherto we have been totally dependent on rainfall agriculture, but the El Nino phenomenon showed us that we better switch mind set and we go very seriously into irrigation, we are giving farmers solar pumps and mechanized pumps and so on’ said George Chaponda, Agriculture Minister, Malawi
It’s hard to overstate the importance of farming in Malawi. Three out of four Malawians depend on the industry for their livelihood and tt contributes around 40% to GDP.
For long, the key crops have been what what and what – with tobacco bringing in much-needed foreign currency?
The government wants farmers to diversify – planting crops and also to experiment with drought-resistant crops. Structured irrigation also is key, tapping natural water flows from the likes of Lake Malawi. That’s easier said than done though.
“Climate change has affected this farm because the water tables have become very low, so pumping of the water has become a problem, we are pumping very little water, now we need more solar panels and pumps’ said Lucious Nkoma, Manager Titokhozi Farm
Several irrigation schemes have been installed across the country. The government concedes, other elements are needed.
“We have to resurrect the old dams constructed in the 1970s, in order that we can increase the water tables, we are also very seriously going into water harvesting” said George Chaponda, Agriculture Minister, Malawi
Self-sufficiency from 2017 may be a stretch -and not everyone is convinced it can ever be achieved. Still, no one wants a repeat of the crisis these past few months. And on that point, there is agreement that Malawi’s farms must find a new way to feed its people.
