Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) says it will distribute maize to 38 605 households affected by the prolonged dry spell in Karonga District.
The district’s director of agriculture, environment and natural resources Raphael Mkisi said this on Monday during an extraordinary full council meeting aimed at updating community leaders on government’s short, medium and long-term interventions to the affected households.
“Following recommendations that there was need for support in terms of relief food, government through Dodma has provided 1 930.25 metric tonnes for April as a short-term measure while waiting for the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee to produce a detailed report on the food consumption for the 2023/24 season. But in the meantime, the 38 605 farming households will each get a 50 kilogramme bag if maize,” said Mkisi.
The distribution of relief maize comes weeks after an assessment report Karonga Agricultural Development Division produced indicated that the drought has affected 8 742 hectares (ha) of maize, 2 105ha of rice, 1 444ha of groundnuts and 59ha of burley tobacco.
In an interview, Dodma deputy director for disaster response Fyawupi Mwafongo said the food distribution is part of government’s short-term plan.
He said: “When we got the report from the council, government decided to swiftly come in with humanitarian food items while we are waiting for the report to go to the National Cluster of Agriculture Committee of Parliament for its members to appreciate the gravity of the problem and source necessary support such as drought-resistant crops, solar-powered irrigation materials and farm inputs to enable people to replant.”
