By chisomo Kambandanga

Nkhata Bay, June 26, Mana: Northern Region Water Board with support from African Development Bank (NRWB) through Catchment Based Climate Resilience Project has trained communities surrounding Nkhata River which flows into Lake Malawi in climate smart agriculture interventions with the goal of conserving the river’s catchment.

Speaking during a media tour at Chilerawana area, Community Mobilization and Training Manager for NRWB, Gerald Ngulube said well protected catchment of the river will lead to sustainable potable water provision in the district.

“These agricultural interventions would assist communities living along Nkhata River catchment to observe soil and water conservation practices so that we have clean water in the lake especially close to where NRWB abstracts water,” said Ngulube.

He said the intervantions was introduced because the board understands that water pollutants in the lake come from upstream the river resulting from human activities along the river’s catchment.

“We are working with Nkhata Bay District Council and communities on best ways of conserving the river catchment. This will help NRWB to minimize water treatment costs,” he added

Ngulube said through the project which is also running in Rumphi and Chitipa district, NRWB provided 158 000 community members with seedlings of fruit trees to be planted along buffer zones for both soil conservation and economic gains for households.

Land Resource Conservation Officer for Nkhata Bay, Davison Kaonga said land degradation is rampant in the district hence the need for such interventions.

“We are thankful to NRWB for equipping communities with smart agriculture interventions such as deep bed farming and construction of contour marker ridges, among others," Kaonga said.

One of the lead farmers, Akunanga Chirwa said he was optimistic that the interventions will meet desired goals of the project.