Karonga District Council needs about K2.2 billion to avert the effects of dry spell which the district has experienced during current growing season.
According to the Council’s report as presented to the District’s Executive Committee (DEC) recently, the dry spell has affected about 30,000 households.
The report proposed interventions to reduce the impact of the dry spell with other solutions to include supporting farmers with sweet potato vines, maize and rice seeds and other farming related materials for winter cropping and irrigation pumps.
Speaking when he presented the report, Crops Officer for Karonga Agriculture Development Division (ADD), Austin Mkwelera, said the farmers will also need relief food items and that the intervention will start from April.
He observed that under normal circumstances, by now most households would have had pumpkins, and green maize for food, but that is not the case because of crop failure.
One of the affected farmers, Kenson Malanga of Dickson Chawinga Village in the area of Paramount Chief Kyungu said the dry spell has extensively destroyed all crops at tender age in the district.
Principal Secretary responsible for Irrigation in the Ministry of Agriculture, Geoffrey Mamba visited the district recently to appreciate the extent of the damage where he described the damage as extensive.
He said despite encouraging farmers to utilize the existing irrigation infrastructure, there was need for government to support the farmers with irrigation equipment.
Reported by Tiwonge Kampondeni
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