Dedza people establish seed bank

About 60 villages in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kachindamoto in Dedza have established a communal storehouse for seed grains for distribution to people who lose their crops during disasters.

Kafulama Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson Betemasi Bonzo said Concern Universal funded the construction of the structure while the people contributed sand and bricks.

Speaking on Friday when council officials toured projects implemented by Concern Universal in the area, Bonzo said the seed bank initiative was necessitated by perennial occurrences of drought and army worms which destroy crops and leave some farming households destitute.

“The seed bank can hold up to 300 bags of seed grains weighing 50 kilogrammes each. We have set a requirement that every village should be contributing seed grains and legumes during harvesting to build the contingency stocks,” he said.

Dedza District Council monitoring and evaluation officer Emmanuel Sohaya hailed the community and Concern Universal for coming up with the initiative which, he said, has potential to reduce the impact of droughts and army worms in the area.

Concern Universal project officer for Dedza Immaculate Bitilinyu said his organisation wants to make communities adapt to climate change effects.

She said other interventions through the project include forestry, beekeeping and goat pass-on programme. n