By Mary Makhiringa

Balaka, May 16, Mana:  Churches Action in Relief and Action (CARD) Executive Director, Melton Luhanga on Wednesday said the launch of the Enhanced Climate Resilience for Improved Income and Food Security Project will help in alleviating serious food insecurity people in Balaka area facing.

At least 109,340 farmers in Balaka are food insecure following destruction of 27,000 hectares of maize due to dry spell in the 2023/2024 agricultural season as a result of El Nino weather pattern which affected most districts in Malawi.

Speaking at Zalimu Village in Balaka after the official launch of the project, Luhanga said the project will look into issues of environmental management and food security.

Said Luhanga: “Balaka is one of the districts that is frequently affected by different calamities, just this year, the district had the El Nino phenomenon which caused severe drought and at some point, the district was also affected by floods.

“We feel different disasters periodically affect the district because climate change and its effect is coming to its climax, so we thought we could invest in this produce to reduce the shocks that come due to the climatic effects.”

According to Luhanga, the project is targeting 1,200 families with 60 percent of them being female headed.

“At the end of it all, we would like to see environmental management highly improved in the area as well as seeing that there is a lot of inclusivity in development with people being food secure and focusing on developing themselves,” he added.

In the project, farmers will be given state of the art solar powered irrigation pumps which will be used all year round as well as distribution of five goats to 300 families on a pass on programme.

Member of Parliament for Balaka South, Ireen Mambala hailed CARD for the initiative, anticipating that it will go a long way in in addressing the food situation in the area.

“It is encouraging that the project has incorporated a lot of women. This is a positive attribute as mostly it is women who feel the impact of food insecurities because they mostly bear the burden unlike men,” she said.

One of the benefiting lead farmers, Regina Eliya said that agricultural activities were always jeopardized by dry spells.

She hailed CARD intervention saying this was timely and ideal among people in Balaka as modern solar pump irrigation will help the farming families to be food secure all year round.

She therefore called upon all beneficiaries of the goat pass on programme to be responsible enough to make the programme reality in meeting its intended objectives.

Chief Agriculture Extension and Natural Resource (CAENRO) David Alli said Enhanced Climate Resilience for Improved Income and Food Security Project will run for three years.