Farmers urged to plant early
Agriculture authorities in Mangochi District have advised farmers to plant with the first rains to boost their chances of getting better yields.
Lulanga Extension Planning Area agriculture extension development officer Gift Nkhoma said this on Tuesday during a roadshow that Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency (Csat) and Civil Society Agriculture Network (Cisanet) organised in group village heads (GVHs) Ching’anda and Mpamira in Sub-Traditional Authority Mambo in the district.
“It is important that you finish preparations now so that when the rains come you should not be taken unawares, but plant to stand a better chance of harvesting more yield,” he said.
Nkhoma said the country is experiencing erratic rains these years so to avoid poor yields, farmers ought to plant early.
“Again, in the face of adverse weather conditions, I encourage farmers to embrace modern farming technologies,” he said.
However, during the event, farmers grilled agriculture officials to explain why Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) materials take time to reach them.
“We always get our farm inputs late, which affects our farming activities,” said Mpamira.
In his response, Mangochi district agriculture officer Hanniel Manani acknowledged the concerns, saying they have already put in place measures to improve the distribution of AIP materials this year.
Csat project officer Jacob Phiri encouraged farmers to continue demanding effective services from duty-bearers.
“Right to food is one of the fundamental rights that is not pushed as an agenda. But there is a need to push to ensure that we all have necessary materials that facilitate our right to adequate food,” he said.
Csat conducted the roadshows under the project dubbed Strengthening Rural Governance on the Right to Adequate Food for All in collaboration with Cisanet with financial support from the German Government through Welthungerhilfe
