Don’t sell relief food, says Machinga DC
Machinga district commissioner Rosemary Nawasha has advised people not to sell relief food.
She made the call on Saturday in Senior Chief Sitola during distribution of relief food in the district.
Nawasha said government launched food response during the lean season to ensure people are food-secure.
She said: “Don’t sell the food because government is trying to help people have food during the lean season.
“I do not want to hear that you are selling the maize you have received.”
Nawasha urged the recipients to use the donation to feed the children and encourage them to attend classes.
A beneficiary, Mercy Nyambi of Malindima Village in Senior Chief Sitolo said the support came at the right time.
“We ran out of food. We did not harvest last year due to prolonged dry spells, fall armyworms and lack of fertilisers,” she said.
Department of Disaster Management Affairs spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula said government is responding to an assessment report which indicated that about 1.7 million Malawians are likely to be food-insecure during the 2021/22 lean season.
She said this year, some beneficiaries are getting cash transfers while others are getting food support.
The relief food will be distributed for three months, starting from February. About 18 134 families are getting relief food this year in the district.
In January, development partners, in collaboration with Malawi Government committed $8.2 million (about K6.7 billion) to support the implementation of the 2021/22 lean season response to support food-insecure households in the Southern Region.
The money will help to reduce food gaps, protect and restore livelihoods and prevent acute malnutrition. Each of the beneficiaries will receive K18 000 per month for three months in Nsanje and Chikwawa and for two months in other districts.
