Farmers in Nsanje District have embraced modern farming technologies to realise high yield and improve household nutrition amid fears of the El Niño weather phenomenon set this growing season.
The nutrition interventions, implemented by Farmers Union of Malawi in partnership with KfW of Germany and Unicef, encourages farmers to adopt technologies such as using hanging bags, baskets and establish backyard gardens.
Annie Million Baella from Muyang’anira Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Ndamera said the technologies are the best remedy for harsh weather conditions as they utilise used water or water from boreholes to water the crops.
“We also raise poultry and rabbits for meat and manure,” she said.
Another farmer, Langtone Washa, from Vuwovuwo Village, T/A Ndamera said modern technologies are answers to harsh weather conditions in the area.
“Our cluster leaders have informed us on the importance of planting diversified crops with different maturity periods during the anticipated El Niño weather condition,” he said.
Nsanje district principal nutrition and HIV and Aids officer Noza Chingola Mpesi on Wednesday told a review meeting on the interventions that the district is struggling to achieve food security due to harsh weather challenges.
“Annually, we face harsh weather. If it is not floods then it will be dry spells. This makes it difficult for farmers to yield more. Now with the information of a 100 percent El Nino phenomenon, farmers are likely to harvest little,” he said.
Mpesi has encouraged the farmers to grow drought tolerant crops and use organic manure, make box ridges and harvest rainwater.
Ministry of Health and Sanitation nutrition programmes officer Keith Kabinda said their role is to provide good coordination to stakeholders fighting malnutrition in the country.
He, however, asked farmers to take advice from cluster leaders on how they can practise farming to realise more yield.
