People in Mzimba have expressed excitement with relief food distribution currently underway in the district.
Speaking during a distribution exercise in Luwerezi on Saturday, a beneficiary, Eziloni Mzembe from Nhanizamowa Village, Traditional Authority Mabilabo said her family ran out of food in August this year.
“The response has come at the right time when many people have run out of food due to poor harvests this year,” he said.
Mzembe appealed to fellow beneficiaries not to sell the relief food, saying doing so will disappoint the donors who are funding the initiative and defeating the purpose.
Another beneficiary, Stelia Nyirenda from Myombe Village, said her children were starving.
“It was difficult for children to go to school hungry. They now have something to eat. I will also have the opportunity to work in the farm instead of doing piecework to buy food,” she said.
Mzimba district commissioner Rodney Simwaka urged beneficiaries to embrace irrigation farming.
He said: “Mzimba has dambos [wetlands] and rivers which flow throughout the year.
“I appeal to beneficiaries to take advantage of these natural resources and venture into irrigation farming instead of relying on rain-fed agriculture.”
M’Mbelwa District Council relief and rehabilitation officer Faith Longwe said about 22 900 people are expected to receive food and cash transfers from this month to February 2025.
“The programme’s goal is to alleviate hunger among people on social protection initiatives such as Social Cash Transfer Programme,” she said.
The 2024 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee Report shows that at least 153 000 people in the district are food-insecure.
Mzimba is one of the 23 districts in the country which experienced prolonged dry spells that affected crop production.
The European Union is supporting the programme in Mzimba through the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare.
