PROMOTING FOOD SECURITY THROUGH MICRO-IRRIGATION SCHEMES: INSIGHTS FROM SENSITIZATION MEETINGS AND FIELD SUPERVISION

by: Chikumbutso Gasper Willard - 11|05|2023

Micro-irrigation schemes are becoming increasingly important in ensuring food security, especially in areas facing threats such as unpredictable weather patterns and water scarcity.

To promote early farm preparation and crop production in micro-irrigation schemes, sensitization meetings were recently conducted at the Mtayamoyo scheme in Brighton village and Tikondane scheme in Alufandika village this was conducted by FACE with funding from Irish Aid through Goal Malawi.

At the Tikondane scheme, which has just begun operations on a 2.1-hectare land, 63 farmers will be sharing a 6m x 46m piece of land per farmer. They will be pumping irrigation water from a part of the Shire River that never dries throughout the year, allowing for crop diversification with maize, cowpeas, and vegetables. The scheme has 4 treadle pumps donated by Goal Malawi in 2014, which have remained idle due to flooding. However, this year, they will be put to use as the scheme progresses through the canal drilling phase.

One of the challenges faced by the scheme management committee is a knowledge gap in group dynamics and leadership skills. To address this, full participation and commitment from farmers was encouraged during the sensitization meetings.

In addition to promoting crop production, field supervision was also conducted in several villages, including Penemulungu, Adam, Mchambalinja, Bandai, and Chinkole in T/A Mlolo, and Alufandika Kambuzuma Fulukiya Maere and Mchacha 6 in T/A Mbenje.

Farmers practicing conservation agriculture in these villages were found to be appreciating their crops despite the dry conditions experienced after heavy rains. Intercropping was also found to be a successful strategy, as if one crop failed, others could still thrive in the same field.

Overall, the sensitization meetings and field supervision have helped to promote crop production and management in micro-irrigation schemes, contributing to food security in the region.