Nkhotakota District Agriculture Office has urged farmers to embrace indigenous crop varieties to enhance agro-biodiversity and mitigate against climate change shocks.
Speaking on Saturday during a Local Food Plants Diversity Fair that the Evangelical Lutheran Development Service organised at group village head (GVH) Chidothi in Traditional Authority Kanyenda, Nkhotakota district director of agricultural services Denis Zingeni called on stakeholders to promote the growing of indigenous crops.
He said his office has established farmer field schools to train and support farmers to cultivate larger quantities of indigenous crops.
“The district is running out of indigenous varieties. We, therefore, are bringing farmers together in farmer field schools to multiply these local varieties and create community seed banks,” said Zingeni.
Evangelical Lutheran Development Service executive director Dickens Mtonga said the event provided an opportunity for farmers to showcase local varieties to communities.
He said cultivating local varieties was more cost-effective than growing hybrid crops are.
“Indigenous crops more disease-resistant and require fewer inputs such as fertiliser,” said Mtonga.
On his part, GVH Chidothi commended the initiative and encouraged his subjects to grow both hybrid and local varieties to cushion against the effects of climate change.
Evangelical Lutheran Development Service, in partnership with the Department of Agricultural Research Services and Centre for Integrated Community Development, is implementing the project in the district with financial support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and Oxfam.
The project seeks to strengthen food and nutrition security and promote climate-resilient local food systems
