Dry spell affects development programs in Nsanje

The drought that has affected Nsanje has led to failure of various community interventions in the district, stakeholders say.

The stakeholders have claimed that extreme weather conditions in the district have affected projects which were aimed at helping improve livelihood and mitigate the effects of climate change in the district.

Goal Malawi programmes Manager for Discover Project Bentry Moyo said this year the climate change projects they were implementing have not been successful due to the dry spell.

“Most of our interventions aimed at boosting agriculture like Ntayakhasu haven’t been effective.

“We were also giving goats to households for husbandry, but with the dry spell and lack of food, many households have sold them.

“Even tree planting is failing as the condition is hardly favourable; trees are just drying up,” he said.

Moyo emphasized on the need for a plan B – giving seeds to farmers who can grow this winter – warning that many households will not yield much this year.

On his part, District Agricultural Development Officer (DADO), Isaac Ali said most interventions on climate change and agriculture need the presence of water hence they cannot succeed when there is a drought.