CBO empowers communities through irrigation farming

Pemphero Community-Based Organisation (CBO), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that empowers people with various skills, has encouraged farmers in Mangochi to engage in irrigation farming despite harvesting surplus food with rain-fed agriculture.

Pemphero CBO project officer Ishmael Amadu said this on Saturday at Mpundi Village, Traditional Authority Namabvi when he distributed 11 treadle pumps, 55 watering cans, assorted hybrid maize seeds, vegetable seeds and other seeds worth K2 million to farmers in the area to help them start irrigation farming.

Speaking in an interview after presenting the materials to the farmers, Amadu stressed the need for the communities to start irrigation farming, saying his organisation is committed to root out hunger in the area through irrigation farming.

He said: “Our organisation being community-based, we feel happy when we see healthy people participating in community development.”

Group village head Ng’ombe of the area hailed the organisation for empowering them with assorted materials to embark on irrigation farming.

With funding from Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Coalition for Research and Action for Social Justice and Human Dignity (Crash), Pemphero is implementing a project on food security aimed at building community resilience. n