By Andrew Mkonda

Lilongwe, March 29, Mana: Lilongwe District Commissioner Lawford Palani has thanked government for including Lilongwe district council into the Sustainable Agriculture Production Program II (SAPP II), describing it as a game changer for the agriculture sector.

Palani made the remarks Friday at Nathenje Residential Training Centre during sensitization meeting of SAPP II for the frontline staff workers in the district.

He said he was happy to see that over 40,000 households, which include persons with disabilities, will benefit from the programme in the district in order to ensure inclusivity and equity in agriculture extension service delivery.

“Let me call upon the Agriculture Extension Development Coordinators (AEDC) and Agriculture Extension Development Officers (AEDO) to take this program seriously by guiding farmers towards adopting sustainable and profitable farming practices. Your dedication, innovation and commitment will determine the success of this program in our district," he said.

In his remarks, Director of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources for Lilongwe district, Ezra Mbendela, said if the program will be well implemented in the district, it will among other things alleviate the challenges faced by farmers and at the same time increase smallholder productivity and climate resilience through the adaption of climate -smart agriculture and improved extension services.

Mbendela said that Lilongwe District Agriculture Office has been facing enormous challenges in activity implementation due to financial hiccups as the district has been relying on Other Recurrent Transaction (ORT) as a source of funds for operations which has been erratic and small.

“That is why we cherish projects and programmes like SAPP II coming to our district as they enable us reach out to more farming households than what we do with normal envelope of ORT which is usually small and erratic.

“I call my team in agriculture a winning team, as they always dedicate themselves whenever they are given an assignment to do as long as they are well supported,” he said

One of the participants, Mphatso Mtambalika, who is also the AEDO for Nyanja Extension Planning Area (EPA), said she was happy with the programme as it will improve productivity for farmers as they will be taught new agricultural farming practices. 

The SAPP II was designed to support the upscaling of SAPP approaches while promoting market-oriented crops and livestock production systems in support of agricultural productivity and commercialization which is in line with pillar number one of Malawi 2063.

The programme has also a strong focus on women empowerment, climate resilience and household food and nutrition security, whilst enhancing the natural resources base, such as land and water of the rural smallholder farmers.