Cadecom in K150m solar powered irrigation project

Mzuzu Catholic Development Commission (Cadecom), a development and relief arm of the Diocese of Mzuzu, will embark on a K150 million solar powered irrigation project in Rumphi District in the next three years.

Mzuzu Cadecom programme manager Gift Luwe told Rumphi District Executive Committee (DEC) in a meeting Wednesday about the development, saying the Scottish Government, through Oxfam, will fund the project.

The project, Improved Livelihoods for Poor Farmers and Their Families in Rural Malawi, aims at assisting communities, especially women, to overcome poverty, increase production and respond to challenges of climate change.

Said Luwe: “We also want to equip them with knowledge of land management and at the same time, assist them to create small business enterprises.”

While commending Cadecom for the irrigation project, which he said will complement government efforts to achieve sustainable food security, Rumphi resident magistrate Bentry Kumwenda advised organisations in the district not to concentrate projects in one traditional authority.

Luwe said the project will not be confined to the impact area only, but will take on board some neighbouring villages.

The irrigation project, whose funding will be disbursed in batches of K50 million per year, will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development in the area of Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe in the district.