By Salome Gangire

Neno, November 20, Mana: Beneficiaries of the 2024/25 Lean Season Response Programme in Neno District have expressed gratitude to government for the timely delivery of maize under the initiative.

Speaking on Wednesday at Chilimbondo Court in the area of Traditional Authority Dambe, one of the beneficiaries, Jenipher Zinongwa from Khomera Village commended government for the timely intervention, noting that the food aid for November has arrived just as they needed it, following a successful October distribution.

“This year’s programme is very organized as we are receiving the maize distribution in time. We have now received maize distribution for the month of November as we did in October. In the past, we used receive maize for a particular month in another month which was not good,” she said.

Zinongwa said the response has eased their struggles during the lean season.

“We are thankful to the government for the timely support. Many families in our area were on the brink of hunger, but receiving maize in October and now November has brought us the much-needed relief,” she said.

Another beneficiary from Mkoka Village in the area of Traditional Authority Symon, Chakuda Bauleni emphasized the impact of the initiative, stating that the support is very important because this is the time of the year when most families have exhausted their food stocks.

“The fact that the maize has come on time shows that government is prioritizing the needs of its people,” Bauleni said.

Bauleni also noted the smooth distribution process, lauding the collaboration between government officials and community leaders.

Neno District Disaster Risk Management Officer, Brighton Mphinga said the implementation of the 2024/25 Lean Season Response Programme is progressing very well in the district with the maize being supplied on time.

Mphinga said the programme is targeting 13 868 food insecure households in the district.

“We would like to thank government for distributing the maize under the lean response in time as we are distributing maize for the month of November, having successfully distributed supplies for October,” Mphinga said.

He said the maize distribution under the programme has resulted in maize prices stabilizing on the market forcing some vendors to lower their prices.

According to Mphinga, Neno is among the districts that will receive the response for six months starting from October 2024 to March 2025 alongside Mwanza and Blantyre districts based on the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report.

He said the response follows the MVAC report, which projected that 5.7 million people will be food insecure in the country.

President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera on May 23, this year declared a state of disaster in 23 out of the 28 districts in the country due to hunger, which was caused by El Nino weather phenomenon.