Counter climate change interventions fail in Nsanje

Stakeholders working to mitigate the effects of climate change in Nsanje District claim extreme weather conditions affecting the district this year are failing their interventions.

Goal Malawi Discover Project programme manager Bentry Moyo said the situation has become an adversary even to conservation agriculture (CA).

“As Goal, we have been implementing projects advancing climate change adaptation in the district; however, this year we have not been successful due to the intense dry spell.

“Most of our interventions aimed at boosting agriculture such as Ntayakhasu [minimum soil disturbance or zero-tillage] have not been effective,” he said.

Moyo said households were also given goats to households for husbandry, but with the dry spell and lack of food, many of them have sold them.

Nsanje district agricultural development officer (Dado) Isaac Ali admitted that most interventions are dependent on water.

“Indeed, there are many stakeholders in the district working with government towards countering effects of climate change.

“However, for crops to grow, the presence of water is very crucial. Now with the drought that has hit the district, it is impossible to implement these interventions, which is why they are failing,” he said.