Total Land Care programmes manager Patrick Thawe says they are committed to restoring and regenerating trees in 75 069 hectares (ha) of degraded land in Mzimba District by 2027.
He said this on Friday when his organisation engaged stakeholders, including traditional leaders on the progress of Restore Africa: Restoring Landscapes and Livelihood project which rolled out in 2022.
Thawe said the project seeks to increase agricultural productivity, improve degraded landscapes and enhance people’s livelihood through building their resilience in the wake of climate change shocks such as droughts, floods and landslides.
He said: “The project is empowering 20 090 farmers and 858 community groups to restore 75 069ha by planting about 7.5 million trees.
“These farmers will benefit from the trees as they will be able to sell them.”
Thawe said the project was in the process of registering and creating a functional carbon market system to support payment of environmental services to farmers.
Mzimba district senior forestry officer Masozi Shaba said her office was working with Total Land Care under the project to identify farmers and offer technical support in nursery establishment.
“This project is important because as a district, we need to own interventions that seek to restore degraded landscapes which is a big problem,” she said
Traditional Authority Jalavikuba said traditional leaders were also concerned with the level of deforestation in the district.
He backed up efforts to sensitise communities to take part in afforestation activities.
“As traditional leaders, we are grateful for this project because it is complementing our efforts to restore the environment,” said Jalavikuba.
Climate Assert Management and Global EverGreen Alliance is funding the project through the Catholic Relief Services in the district
