By Salome Gangire

Neno, October 19, Mana: Farmers from Nkhate irrigation Scheme in Chikwawa have tipped their colleagues from Tsenjerani Irrigation Scheme in Neno to consider farming as a business.

Speaking on Friday in Chikwawa during a learning visit, Nkhate Irrigation Scheme’s Board of Trustees Secretary, Timothy Manyiwa told the visiting farmers that the era of farming solely for consumption was over,

He urged the farmers to start focusing on “farming for profit” to boost income for improved livelihood, saying there was need to utilize the water in the scheme which is mostly available throughout the year.

Board of Trustees member for Tsenjerani Irrigation Scheme, Montfort Bwanali described the visit to Chikwawa as fruitful, observing that farmers from Neno learnt from their colleagues’ ways of managing a scheme for sustainable livelihood.

“We learnt that irrigation schemes improve food security, guarantees economic empowerment besides helping farmers generate income if well managed,” he said,

Bwanali observed that irrigation farming has many advantages over rain fed agriculture which is unpredictable in the wake of climate change,

He said farmers from Tsenjerani will use the knowledge gained from the learning tour to manage their scheme once in full operation.

Nkhate Irrigation Scheme was built by the Taiwanese Agricultural Mission between 1979 and 1980 under former Malawi leader Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s influence for sustainable food supply.  

Neno District Irrigation Officer, Austin Ndengu said the learning tour accorded   Neno farmers an opportunity to gain knowledge from their colleagues on scheme management and issues to do with marketing.

“The aim was to share knowledge on irrigation scheme management, organization, marketing, and irrigation development among other important aspects,” Ndengu added.

Nkhate Irrigation Scheme lies on a 243 hectares of irrigable land under Livunzu Extension Planning Area (EPA) where over 1,112 tonnes of rice is harvested, generating over K1.1 billion in a single harvest.

He therefore thanked Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (MWASIP) for building capacity of farmers through Water Users Association (WUA) and for organizing the learning visit,

Neno District Council with financial support from MWASIP is constructing Tsenjerani Irrigation Scheme at Mkulumadzi EPA in Traditional Authority Dambe.