Chiradzulu, March 23, Mana: Chiradzulu District Council has called on people to plant trees as part of increasing vegetative cover that in turn would mitigate impact of natural disasters.

Council Chairperson, Patrick Chintengo made the call over the weekend as the council launched 2024/2025 tree planting season at Chingoma Primary School, Traditional Authority Mpunga under the theme: Restore forests and land to secure food production.

He stated that many people in the district destroyed forests and were struggling with effects of extreme weather conditions, such as unpredictable rainfall and destructive cyclones.

“Recently, we were hit by Tropical Cyclone Freddy which took away lives and damaged crops and property. Each year, many farming households fail to harvest enough crops to sustain themselves because of environmental degradation due to careless cutting down of trees.

“This is why we are urging communities to plant and care for trees to restore our forests, enjoy clean air and protect the environment,” Chintengo added.

He therefore thanked NBS Bank for providing the 210 seedlings which were planted at the school and for bailing out communities during the Tropical Cyclone Freddy devastation, saying the bank proven to be a trusted allay during time of need.

On his part, NBS Cluster Manager for Southern and Eastern Regions, Gracious Changaya, said the bank  decided to support the tree planting exercise as part of its cooperate social responsibility.

“Our partnership with the council dates back to many years. We were here with support during the time of Cyclone Freddy and now when the council needed us to help with the tree planting exercise, we did not hesitate.

“This is because we believe that for us to do better as a bank, it is because of the people and the partners we work with," said Changaya, and pledged to inject another K1 million into the tree planting exercise.

Traditional Authority Mpunga commended the council and NBS for organising the exercise in her area, and assured the council and the bank that she will work with fellow local leaders to ensure that the trees seedlings are cared for.

Chiradzulu District Council, Director of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dennis Zingeni indicated that the council plans to plant 60,000 trees in the 2024/2025 forestry season.

He however lamented that only 40 percent of planted trees planted in district survive