2014/15 worst farming season—Mutharika
President Peter Mutharika has described the 2014/2015 farming season as one of the worst Malawi has ever experienced in recent years.
The President said this on Monday during his National Address on Food Security at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.
He said: “There have always been people facing hunger in recent years, but the situation this year is the worst compared to the other years.”
Mutharika observed that during the growing season under review, the rains started very late (in mid- December 2014) and from the onset rains in mid-December, 2014, through to mid-January, 2015, the country received continuous heavy rainfall that led to the worst flooding in living memory.
The President said the floods affected about 1.1 million people and damaged property and public infrastructure, washing away at least 64 000 hectares of crop fields, mostly in the Southern Region.
“During the floods, 106 people were killed and 172 people were reported missing and the magnitude of the floods caused my government to swiftly move in and, as you will recall, I declared a state of national disaster in the 15 most affected districts and I appealed for assistance on 13th January, 2015,” he said.
The President said the affected population of 2.8 million is spread in 24 districts of Chitipa, Karonga and Mzimba in the Northern Region; Dedza, Dowa, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Mchinji Nkhotakota, Ntcheu and Salima in the Central Region; and Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Mwanza, Neno, Nsanje, Phalombe, Thyolo and Zomba in the Southern Region.
Amidst claims of floods and drought, we should also be looking at underlying causes. Much of Malawi’s agricultural land has become ‘hard-panned’ due to the perpetual use of monocropped ridging systems, in which the same tired soil is turned back and forth from season to season while the soil underfoot is compacted. This problem is exacerbated by the continual removal and burning of organic matter, which is primarily responsible for the building of soil structure. Organic matter acts like a ‘sponge’ allowing rains to infiltrate the soil and then holding it for longer periods of time. When this organic matter is removed it creates conditions where heavy rains quickly run off, causing annual flooding, and then when there is a gap in the rainfall the nation quickly moves into drought-like conditions.
Despite many people complaining of ‘floods and drought’ during the past growing season, it is important to remember that there were many successful examples throughout the country where farmers were able to produce healthy and abundant crops, despite the climatic challenges. Most of these successful examples came from farmers who are practicing sustainable agroecological methods such as: composting, mulching, using local and well-adapted seeds, growing local food crops, relying on seasonal production systems, and implementing good soil and water management techniques. Despite having ‘too much’ water in some areas we read in this same article of the Nation Newspaper that we are now importing water-loving crops such as bananas from Tanzania. Despite problems obtaining chemical fertilizers we continue to see farmers ignoring crops that don’t need fertilizer applications (i.e. sorghum, millet, yams, etc). Despite having a 12-month growing season we continue to see the majority of the nation’s agricultural policies focused on the short rainy-season production of one crop–maize (a Central American crop). This has led to serious problems of food and nutrition insecurity. Malawi has access to hundred upon hundreds of food crops that could be integrated into current agricultural models, ensuring daily access throughout the year to Malawi’s 6 food groups. Solutions exist! Let’s begin to look at the success stories in Malawi, celebrate them, and learn some much-needed and valuable lessons.