By Vincent Khonje

Mchinji, February 27, Mana: The water and soil conservation interventions that are being done under the Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CSEPWP) have given hope to restoring the environment and rehabilitating degraded soil in Mchinji, thereby enhancing high yields.

CSEPWP is a component under the Social Support for Resilient Livelihood Programme (SSRLP), which aims at, among others, rehabilitating the degraded environment, strengthening households’ resilience to shocks and increasing households’ income.

In an interview with beneficiaries in the safety net CSEPWP, they said there is hope that the degraded land can be healed and households can be able to harvest more.

Susan Phiri from Kamphoro catchment in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kapunula said water runoff from Nkhukwa Hill was causing havoc on the fields downhill, and this affected yield.

“The interventions like stone bands and semi-secular bands have helped to reduce water runoff thereby helping the field downhill to be protected and the soil is no longer being washed away, giving us high yield,” said Phiri.

Chairperson for Nathyola Catchment in T/A Mlonyeni, Andsen Mvula, said the land is filled with gullies but the check dams they have constructed are helping to fill up the gullies.

“The big gullies were eating up farming land but we have made sure that they are filled up by using check dams that check the speed of the water. We are observing that the gullies are slowly filling up with soil which later will be used for farming,” said Mvula.

Desk officer for Gumba Catchment, Jeremiah Chafukira, said they have set up interventions uphill which have helped in catching water which later is able to infiltrate into the soil, and they have also helped reduce siltation in rivers.

“The most important thing about these soil and water conservation initiatives is that, there will be enough groundwater, crops will not be washed away, and rivers are protected,” said Chafukira.

CSEPWP is benefiting 19,362 participants in Mchinji who get K28,800 in wages after working in the catchments to restore the environment.

Senior Land Resource Conservation Officer Rhoda Njikho said in the next cycle, the number of beneficiaries is likely to be increased.

“There will be additional 3,783 beneficiaries in the next cycle which will be added on top of the 19,362,” said Njikho.

Other interventions include the construction of swales, contour marker ridging, caring for naturally regenerating trees, afforestation, and river bank protection.

CSEPWP is implemented through the National Local Government Finance Committee and funded by the World Bank and the Social Protection Multi-Donor Trust Fund.