Govt asked to intensify irrigation farming amid drought scare
The Civil Society Agriculture Network (CisaNet) has appealed to government to increase investment in irrigation farming activities as the country is expected to receive erratic rainfall in 2018/19 agricultural season.
The consensus forecast produced by the 22nd Southern African Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF) in Lusaka, Zambia predicted that southern African countries, including Malawi, would receive erratic rainfall this planting season.
Speaking to Mana in a telephone interview on Monday CisaNet national director, Pamela Kuwali said government should create more awareness to farmers on how they can respond to drought to minimise the impact.
“Stakeholders in the agriculture sector should support farmers with seeds and cuttings of drought tolerant crops, government storage reserves should also be full of maize to their maximum capacity,” she said.
Furthermore, Kuwali also asked farmers to grow early maturing crop varieties as the season may be shorter due to drought conditions.
Climate experts in the region have predicted that this year the El Nino Southern Oscillation (Enso) is expected to shift from a neutral to warm phase in the coming rainy season, a phenomenon known as El Nino.
