Zomba communities urged to grow sweet potatoes

Zomba Malosa legislator Grace Kwelepeta (Democratic Progressive Party) has urged people in her constituency to grow sweet potatoes to diversify their crop production.

She said this on Monday at Saidi Village in Senior Chief Malemia in Zomba District when she distributed sweet potato vines.

Kwelepeta said she used K5 million from the Constituency Development Fund to buy the vines.

She said she targeted people who were affected by Cyclone Freddy in March 2023.

Said Kwelepeta: “The same farmers are also in danger of being affected by dry spell as forcast by the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services which may affect maize production.

“Potatoes are drought resistant; hence encouraging farmers to grow the crop.”

Malosa agriculture extension officer Alex Jangiya said sweet potatoes take between 85 and 120 days to mature.

He advised the farmers to manage weeds within their fields to boost production.

“Weeds can compete with potato plants for light, water and nutrients that may lower yields,” said Jangiya.

Julius Kasitomu, who benefitted from the vines, said the maize he planted is not performing well due to lack of fertiliser.

“It is obvious I will not harvest enough for my family. That is why I thank the parliamentarian for supporting us with the vines. I will work hard to register better yields,” he said.

Last year, Cyclone Freddy-induced floods washed away people’s crops, which created food shortage among the affected households in the district.