Farmers get cassava planting materials
Multi-seed Company has donated cassava planting materials to farmers from Traditional Authority (T/A) Chadza in Lilongwe.
In an interview on Friday, the company’s chief executive officer Ibrahim Benesi said they will distribute 16 000 bundles of potato planting materials and 10 000 bundles of cassava planting materials to small-scale farmers in the district.
He said they wanted to boost food security among the farmers.
“Besides, the orange sweet potatoes are rich in Vitamin A and the leaves are rich in several nutrients, including Vitamin C while cassava leaves are rich in protein,” said Benesi.
On her part, Loness Kambalame-Mbukwa, a beneficiary from Chamdimba Village in the area, said she had no cassava planting materials.
“I could not buy cassava planting materials due to lack of money because of the Covid-19 pandemic which has affected our income sources,” she said.
Mkwinda Extension Planning Area development officer Robert Limbe said most famers were struggling financially due to the pandemic.
“Cassava does not require a lot of inputs. These planting materials will get them back to their feet as most of the farmers lost their financial resources,” he said.
Limbe also said some farmers in the area are facing problems with tobacco; hence, the agriculture office advised them to uproot the tobacco and plant other crops.
The company is distributing cassava and sweet potato planting materials to small-scale farmers in Lilongwe, Kasungu, Machinga, Nkhotakota, Blantyre, Zomba, Mulanje and Thyolo.
