By Yamikani Yapuwa

Thyolo, May 30, Mana: At least 29, 598 households under the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) and Climate Smart Public Works Programme (CS-PWP) will benefit from the Scalable Safety Nets in Thyolo District.

National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) Shock Sensitive Specialist, Mulder Mkutumula disclosed this on Wednesday during a meeting with the Thyolo District Social Support Committee (DSSC).

"The programme will run for three months starting from June to August and beneficiaries will get K50, 000 per month.

"However, they will be given the money in a lump sum of K150, 000 by mid or end of June to ensure that they are able to buy maize now that it is relatively cheap than later," he said.

Mkutumula said out of the 29, 598 households, 16, 658 households are from the Social Cash Transfer Programme while 12, 940 are ultra-poor households drawn from the CS-PWP.

"Beneficiaries will receive the money through e-payment where we use TNM Mpamba," he added.

Director of Planning and Development (DPD) for Thyolo District Council, Enerst Kaphuka described the move as timely and critical, especially as we are in the harvesting season.

He said the money would enable the most vulnerable households to purchase maize; thereby, ensuring food security and stability in the community.

"This money will ensure that thousands of household’s secure maize supplies to last them for at least three to five months.

"This will help in improving nutritional standards and enhancing the health and well-being of our people" the DPD said.

 Kaphuka added that giving K50, 000 per household per month will significantly boost the local economy.

"As households purchase maize and other essentials, local markets will experience increased activity, benefiting traders and contributing to the overall economic vibrancy of our district," he pointed out.

By Winfrida Kamwana

Mchinji, May 30, Mana: Transforming Agriculture through Diversification and Entrepreneurship (TRADE) has urged farmers to embrace mechanization and machinery in farming in order to improve farm yields.

Speaking at Limbika Farm where TRADE was showcasing the use of a new machinery called a potato planter, Value Chain and Agribusiness Specialist, Linda Magombo Munthali explained that mechanization was vital to improving farm production and yields.

“The use of machinery such as the potato planter saves time rather than using manual labour. This way, farmers will have time to do more activities on their farm and avoid spending more time on one activity,” she said.

Munthali explained that in the process of commercializing agriculture, machinery and mechanization brings in labour saving and increase in productivity.

Director of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources in Mchinji, Hastings Yotamu said the use of machinery addresses many activities making it commendable for farm production.

“As one way of reaching Malawi 2063 goals, farmers need to take farming as a business and one way to do that is to invest in machinery which will be used for easy labour and production,” he said.

Yotamu asked farmers to join cooperatives for easy access to such machinery and grants from different stakeholders.

“Such machinery is expensive but recommendable which is why farmers are encouraged to be in cooperatives so that they can be able to raise funds and buy the needed farm inputs and share among themselves,” the Director said.

Owner of Limbika Farm, Annie Jaffu appreciated TRADE for introducing such machinery in their field of work saying this would make their work easier.

“As a farmer, efficiency is very important in farming and using this machinery will help us save time and save labour enabling us do more work in a short period of time,” she noted.

Officer in-charge for Gada Farm, Lieutenant, Deborah Nkulama said they would make it a point to access such machinery to their farm for improved yields.

“The potato planter does not only plant the potato but makes fine ridges at the same time making finer soil particles for easy growth of the potato which means the potatoes that will come out will be large and good to be used as seeds the next farming season,” she explained.

TRADE programme is a six-year programme under local government which is set to contribute to sustainable improved livelihoods of rural people in the country.

By Richard Kagunda

Kasungu. May 30, Mana: Controller for Agriculture and Extension Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Alfred Mwenefumbo has said lack of technological investments in the harvesting of produce was making farmers incur huge post-harvest losses.

He said this on Tuesday during the country’s first ever National Commemoration Day for the Reduction of Food Loss and Waste at Santhe in Kasungu District.

The Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources organised the activity in conjunction with Malawi government to raise awareness about food losses and waste.

Mwenefumbo said manual labour presents harvest inefficiencies, calling on farmers to invest in harvesting technologies to safeguard their produce.

“Let’s buy harvesters according to our capacities because they are available right in this country in different sizes.

“If you are a serious farmer, you must get a harvester. It is worth it because manual labour is limited and you lose your produce due to inefficiencies during harvesting,” he said.

According to Mwenefumbo, the country registers high post-harvest losses due to poor transport systems, storage deficiencies and carelessness.

He said that, “Government is trying to make more places accessible to reduce the losses that are made during transportation. The actual storage also contributes a lot to the losses because most of the produce cannot withstand weevils.

“Let’s take advantage of the available technology such as plastic bags to preserve our produce and avoid selling the produce without budgeting.”

Coordination Specialist at Food and Agriculture Organization, Noellah Kamwendo said high post-harvest losses being incurred by farmers are contributing to the problem of food insecurity in the country.

“This is why this day is very important in that we are raising awareness so that people should know more about food losses, be it maize, milk and legumes.

“It is an important day because people will get know that right from harvesting, transportation, and during processing, some food is lost. This food that is lost can help us for many days,” she said.

As part of the commemoration activities, several organisations including the World Food Programme mounted pavilions to showcase their contribution towards food security in the country.

At least 1.3 billion metric tonnes of food is lost in the world annually where as in the country, post-harvest losses are estimated at 30 percent.

By Sylvester Kumwenda

Dowa, May 29, Mana: Government has called for substantial investment in irrigation as means to counter food shortages in the country.

Minister of Agriculture, Sam Kawale made the call Wednesday when he launched the construction of Dowa Dambo Irrigation Scheme being funded by Malawi government and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to a tune of K 29.1 billion.

The Scheme will see the construction of five dams with over 30 submersible pumps, which will provide water to 453 hectares of farmland.

Kawale said the recent erratic rain patterns, droughts, which resulted into a state of disaster in many districts, was a wakeup call that the country could no longer depend on rain fed agriculture for food security.

"In recognition of that, President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera expressed numerous measures put in place to deal with long term food shortages, with special emphasis on irrigation agriculture.

"Irrigation is very important to us as a nation. It will help our farmers plant and harvest more than once, depending on the crop under cultivation. It will provide socio economic endeavors, enough and nutritious food critical for a healthy population that can partake in the development of the country," he said.

The Minister pointed out the need for the community to utilize the project, which was being constructed by the Foundation for Irrigation and Sustainable Development (FISD) and a joint venture of SAWA and SICO JV, and expected to be completed in 18 months.

Kawale added that Ministry of Agriculture was committed to achieving the country’s quest for sustainable food security.

"As such today, we have immense joy with this project as it not only contributes towards Malawi 2063, but answers the request from Malawians to help them grow more food," he said.

IFAD Country Director, Bernedette Mukonyora said her organization was supporting government to have adequate funding to actualize its plans, programsme, policies and priorities in the agriculture sector.

She said with irrigation farming and infrastructure development being a core pillar under Malawi 2063, Malawi like other countries was facing challenges due to climate change, making it difficult to attain food security.

"So we are funding this program to enable government support the food security and production agenda of this country. Irrigation allows you to produce more than once, which means continuous cropping.

"This project will help in supporting household production in Dowa, it will promote diversification because a community can cultivate different crops within the year, and it supports the agriculture commercialization agenda," she said.

Chairperson for Dowa District Council, Mayamiko Kambewa said the project would help farmers benefit from their farming activities.

"If we want to see tangible results in farming, we have to encourage farmers to harvest more than once a year. One of the ways is to put in structures which will encourage irrigation farming.

"We are very happy because we know that this is the beginning of a new era which will propel food security and income generation for our people," he said.

Government is constructing the scheme, which is the eighth one in the country, through the Department for Irrigation under the Program for Rural Irrigation Development (PRIDE).

By Gift Chiponde

Lilongwe, May 29 Mana: Chairperson for the Malawi Peace and Unity Commission (MPUC), Commissioner Mary Nkosi, has emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to foster peace among Malawians ahead of the 2025 General Elections.

She made the remarks in Lilongwe on Wednesday during a press briefing aimed at updating the public on the progress that the Commission has made since its operationalization.

Nkosi urged political parties, officials, and the citizenry to conduct a clean campaign by avoiding violence and disputes.

She said the Commission will continue to strengthen local peace-building structures across the country as a way of preventing electoral violence towards the 2025 elections, as electoral violence thrives on unresolved community-level conflicts.

Nkosi disclosed that plans are underway to ensure that the commission secretariat is effective and operational as a way of improving the operations of the commission.

She stated that the MPUC held its first quarterly meeting of the 2024/2025 financial year on Tuesday to assess the progress made in the implementation of priority interventions, which were agreed upon in previous meetings to make the Commission fully operational.

Nkosi commended the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for lending support for the establishment of the commission and running its operations.

In an interview with the Malawi News Agency (MANA), a renowned Political and Socio-Economic expert Humphreys Mvula said the initiative undertaken by the commission signifies the commitment to ensuring that peace and unity exist in the country.

He said the commission should fully develop a good strategy for addressing issues through complete research when addressing issues about peace and unity.

By: Golden Kang'oma

Salima, May 28, Mana: The National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Trust, under its Nthawi Yawo project funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has employed male champions to encourage women’s participation in the upcoming elections.

This initiative aims to foster inclusive participation of women in Malawi's political landscape.

"The role of the male champions is to try to change the minds of the people in different areas, in Salima. We have about 12 Traditional Authorities (TAs), and each TA has two male champions. Their aim is to garner community support for women in politics," she said.

Mataya emphasized the project’s goal of widespread public sensitization. "Our expectation is that they will reach out to as many people as possible, encouraging support for women in politics. We want to empower women to take part in various positions in the 2025 elections," she said.

Mataya added that the male champions will undergo various training sessions to effectively carry out their roles.

Gender Officer for Salima District Council, Friness Samaliya stressed the importance of male advocacy in this patriarchal society.

"We are calling on these male champions to spread the message. The campaign period is not yet in, but we want to prepare women to show their interest in politics."

She said: "In a patriarchal setup where men make most family decisions, it's crucial for these champions to penetrate male-dominated communities and encourage fellow men to support women candidates."

"If men support women, we will see more women surviving in the political arena in Salima," she said.

Bisalomu Gowa, one of the male champions, expressed his commitment to the cause.

"We are going to work tirelessly to ensure that women's participation in politics increases," Gowa said.

The initiative marks a significant step towards enhancing women's political representation in Malawi, aiming to bring about a more inclusive and balanced political environment.