Zomba people urged to invest in land restoration

Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change chairperson Werani Chilenga says Zomba District has potential to reclaim its degraded land if communities are equipped with land management skills.

He said this on Tuesday in Zomba when the committee visited Namitembo Catchment Area in Senior Chief Mlumbe.

The visit was aimed at appreciating some sustainable water and land management activities being implemented in the district by the Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (Mwasip).

Chilenga said increasing the adoption of sustainable landscape management practices and improving watershed services can help communities to register bumper yields from their farms despite climate change.

“Landscape restoration is essential to the proper management of land,” he said.

During the visit, the legislators appreciated various landscape restoration technologies such as swales, check dams, stone bunds, marker ridges, afforestation and agricultural products.

Zomba district commissioner Reignhard Chavula said since the inception of the project in the district in 2021, natural regeneration management interventions have improved the welfare of people in the district.

“Contour lines placed along the fields have reduced soil erosion and increased soil water retention in the district,” she said.

Magdalene Bandawe from Mtembwe Village said the landscape restoration technologies have also contributed to the accumulation of sediments, organic matter and nutrients which are boosting agricultural production.

Mwasip catchment management technical team member Joseph Kanyangalazi said the project, which started in 2021 and is expected to phase out in 2026, has restored 22 000 hectares of land against the projected 45 000 hectares.