Farmers reap from land conservation project
Communities from Traditional Authority Mkukula in Dowa District have expressed hope of reaping a bumper yield courtesy of a land conservation project under the Climate-Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme.
The communities from Kaphirisiwa Catchment Area under Chibvala Extension Planning Area constructed infiltration pits and stone bunds on hill slopes to slow down run-off.
In an interview on Wednesday, community member Anne Kapala, said the interventions helped to retain moisture in the gardens.
She said: “Our gardens lost fertile top soil due to erosion caused by run-off from hills.
“The situation led to low yields which affected household’s food security. However, the story has changed this year because through the interventions, we expect to get bumper yields.”
Kaphirisiwa Catchment Area chairperson Harold Tsakulani said the other interventions they implemented include afforestation, planting vetiver grass, constructing swales and reclaiming gullies.
He said: “Soil erosion created deep gullies which washed away arable land.
“We have also agreed to all stop harvesting sand as the activity contributed to the formation of gullies.”
Tsakulani said the catchment’s 470 participants planted about 20 000 trees in the third cycle of the programme.
Dowa district project officer for Climate-Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme Kingster Kathumba said he was pleased to see farmers expecting good crop yields after implementing the interventions.
Climate-Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme is a component under the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project funded by the World Bank and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
