Minister of Agriculture, Honorable Lobin Lowe, MP, says the Government of Malawi is investing a lot of resources in ensuring that the farming communities are cushioned against climatic shocks.
Honorable Lowe was speaking in Blantyre when he opened a four-day international workshop on Resilient Food Systems (RFS) Knowledge Exchange and Learning organized by the PRIDE under Department of Irrigation.
“In the face of challenges like droughts, floods and other natural disasters that Malawi is facing almost every year due to climate change, Government thorugh my Ministry, is investing a lot in ensuring that the farming communities are cushioned against shocks that come with climate change like droughts and floods,” said Honorable Lowe, citing the provision of Affordable Input Programme (AIP) as an example.
Under RFS, Malawi through the Department of Irrigation has a project that is working to assist farmers adapt to the challenges that have come with climate change by addressing issues of land and the environment in which farming take place.
Honorable Lowe cited the Enhancing the Resilience of Agro-Ecological Systems (ERASP), a supporting project for PRIDE as a good example of the efforts his ministry is making to ensure that environment challenges are addressed.
“ERASP is key in achieving objectives under PRIDE. As you are all aware, water is the heartbeat of any irrigation efforts. By addressing ERASP will ensure that the farmers have adequate water for irrigation,” said the Minister.
RFS projects are being implemented in 12 African countries namely: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.
The projects in these countries are funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). Jean-Marc Sinnassamy, Senior Environmental Specialist for GEF said the gathering was among other objectives to facilitate practical learning and peer exchange through field trips hosted by the RFS Malawi project team.