Minister of Agriculture, Sam Dalitso Kawale, recently reiterated government’s commitment to support the Chikwawa Irrigation Scheme under the Greenbelt Authority, in Salima District.
He was speaking in appreciations for a good workmanship the Greenbelt Authority put up at the 100 hectare Chikwawa Irrigation Scheme during the 2023/24 growing season.
He said the Authority’s work was inline with his Ministry's obligation of guaranteeing adequate food supply towards total eradication of hunger in Malawi.
“I must admit I am very impressed with the work that the Greenbelt Authority has done here in Salima, and I would not be wrong to predict that government will earn a lot of yield from this farm. This is what we need as government in order to move forward,” he added.
The Greenbelt Authority cultivated at 100 hectares of the 500 hectares available at the Chikwawa Irrigation Scheme in Salima during the past rain-fed agriculture season, as a way of contributing to government’s efforts to eradicate hunger.
Kawale further highlighted that in government’s plan, 200,000 hectares had been earmarked for irrigation across the country, adding that the Ministry was hopeful that the initiative would empower farmers more, ensuring that the actual cultivation is done by them, rather than the government.
In his remarks, Board Chairperson for the Greenbelt Authority, Wester Peter Kosamu outlined an ambitious goal of securing K10 billion to extend irrigation to a 1,000 hectares land in the same area, which he says is crucial for the expansion of the scheme and the realization of its full potential.
On the ground, the impact of the Chikwawa Irrigation Scheme is outstanding as it has provided employment to about 140 casual workers from the community, who are eager to display assets earned through working in the GBA farm.
Owen Kasonda, a local farmer and one of the many beneficiaries of the scheme, shares his uplifting journey which started with a simple idea of starting livestock farming from the money he got from GBA.
“When I joined as a labourer, I decided that I was going to use my money to buy chickens and start keeping them; however afterwards my dream got bigger that currently my livestock keeping includes four goats, but my goal is to have at least 20 of them. I know it will happen.” He explains with excitement.
Equally, a 61-year-old single mother of four, Kelita Layison, expressed her joy over a positive change in her ability to address household needs; “thanks to the income generated from working in the fields,” she says.
She managed to rent a hectare of land from the money she realised from piece works at the GBA farm, and managed to cultivate maize, geared to feed her family this year.
