The Greenbelt Authority (GBA) says it is seeking K44 billion to develop a 2 000-hectare irrigation scheme in Salima to produce 100 000 metric tonnes (MT) of maize to counter El Niño impact.
GBA chief executive officer Amon Mluwira told Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament in Lilongwe on Wednesday in response to a question on what the institution is doing to strengthen food security in the event that the impending El Niño affects the country’s food supply.
He said the authority wants to use land located about four kilometres from Lake Malawi to produce maize through irrigation and supply it to a government agency for distribution to the most vulnerable households.
“Although we are an institution that is mandated to do large-scale commercial irrigation farming, we thought we could help in food security during this hard time,” said Mluwira, adding that the proposed scheme will remain in use beyond the El Niño threat.
He said the GBA has approached the ministries of Finance and Agriculture, as well as the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), to seek support for the initiative.
He cited the 2022/23 financial year, when GBA planned to work on three large-scale irrigation projects requiring K9 billion but received only K500 million.
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PAC chairperson Steven Malondera said withholding support from GBA over past problems would ultimately punish ordinary Malawians who had done nothing wrong.
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development spokesperson Salome Gangire asked for more time before commenting while Treasury spokesperson Williams Banda had not responded to a questionnaire by press time.
Meanwhile, agriculture policy expert Tamani Nkhono Mvula has said the proposed scheme is feasible because land is available, with the main requirements being equipment, seed, fertiliser, labour and other inputs.
This year, GBA produced 600MT of maize through its existing schemes, which it handed over to the National Food Reserve Agency. It also produced 50MT of rice, which was bought by Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation.
