By Vincent Khonje

Mchinji, November 5, Mana:  Every smallholder farmer’s wish is to have a bumper yield but for Phelire Alick from Malizani Village in Traditional Authority (TA) Nyoka in Mchinji this opportunity has eluded her for years.

Alick has had a favourable crop field with favourable soils and mostly the area receives good rains but she faces problems with water runoff which has threatened both the fertile soil and the crops in the field.

During the 2023/24 farming season, a fair share of her groundnuts field was washed away which drastically reduced her yield.

“The water from the Mchinji Hills rapidly descends downhill and ends up washing away our crops. Even the soil now is also degraded because of the water,” complained Alick.

Alick’s case is not isolated as most of the areas in the Mchinji district face similar devastating challenges.

The negative effects of water runoff in the district include the carrying of pollutants to crop fields, destroying the fields, and eroding of fertile soil.

This has left most of the land in the district degraded which is a threat to food security.

Luckily, community members now have come to realise that there can be some soil and water conservation structures that can help correct some of the problems by reducing the speed of water and helping it infiltrate into the soil.

The introduction of the Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CSEPWP) in the local councils has helped communities to come up with soil and water conservation interventions that smallholder farmers feel will be a lifeline.

The programme which is a component of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihood Programme (SSRLP Tidzidalire) is being implemented by the Malawi Government through the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) and is being supported by the World Bank and the Social Protection Multi-Donor Trust Fund

The overall objective is to create visible, durable and quality assets within micro catchments that will improve household resilience to shocks, increase impact on household-level income and food security and reduce household exposure to risks associated with climate change and other disasters.

CSEPWP is a social protection programme however, its implementation has made sure that the participants gain dual benefits in restoring their degraded land through soil and water conservation interventions and also earning wages after doing these interventions.

A foreman in one of the micro-catchments in Mchinji called Luzale in the same TA Nyoka, Vincent Phiri, said the programme has introduced to the area check dams that control the speed of water in the process reclaiming the big gullies that carry water downhill to the people’s fields.

“The water for a long time has created gullies but with the stone check dams the water is being controlled which helps the fields downhill to be protected,” said Phiri.

Mchinji has 25 micro catchments that have all come up with several water and soil conservation structures.

Of significant note are contour marker ridges, stone bunds, semi-secular bunds, dykes, infiltration pits, and swales.

Apart from these, there is also natural regeneration management and tree planting to replenish green cover.

The designated desk officer for Puye Micro-catchment in TA Matuwamba, Jeremiah Chafukira, said the structures have helped a lot and give hope for bumper yields.

“The semi-secular bunds, swales and infiltration pits help hold the water and help the water to infiltrate into the soil which is important even during the dry spells as the soil still contains moisture for a long time,” said Chafukira.

Chafukira said in the fields there are also contour marker ridges that help hold water for the survival of crops.

Catchment management committee (CMC) chairperson for Guillime Micro-catchment Felix Bazale said the people are now realizing the importance of these structures in their fields.

“Last farming season was a learning point and now many farmers are asking us to make these structures in their crop fields in readiness for this season,” said Bazale.

CSEPWP Mchinji District Project Facilitator Thandi Sukali said the programme has brought some significant changes in the district and as a social protection programme there are dual benefits.

“As they are correcting the degraded land the people also earn something which they use in their households. The money they get as wages through the consumption support component is helping them send children to school, and buy food, fertilizer and other needs,” said Sukali.

Over 27000 participants who are labour-capable have been enrolled in the programme in Mchinji.

Currently, participants work on the sub-projects for 30 days and are given K1600 and this is a shift from the 24 days they were working in the previous cycles.

As the participants work hard to restore their environment in the district, they are filled with hope that their farming fields will have improved yields.

The interventions have also seen the planting of vetiver grass along contour ridges, the production of manure for soil improvement, the establishment of tree nurseries ready for planting during this rainy season, and the care of naturally regenerating trees.