NGO empowers Rumphi women farmers

Civil Society Network on Climate Change (Cisonecc) has rolled out a project to empower women in Rumphi with climate-smart agriculture technologies to mitigate climate change effects.

Speaking after a training workshop in the district on Monday, Cisonecc coordinator Julius Ng’oma said the project targets women because they are the most affected when disasters strike.

He said: “About 80 percent of Malawians are engaged in agriculture, with over 80 percent of them being women. This means that women are the most affected by the same. That’s why we are targeting women with climate-smart agriculture initiatives to build their resilience to effects of climate change.”

Titled Gender and Climate Change Support Programme, the project is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development and its Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare counterpart.

Ng’oma said they expect to implement the project for four months on a pilot basis with $20 000 (about K15 million) funding from New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad).

Agriculture extension development coordinator for Ntchenachena area Kondwani Ngwira said women are trained in various technologies, including manure making.

“With climate change, some of these seeds are scarce. So, we want to multiply various seeds to benefit rural masses in mitigating effects of climate change,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries, Margaret Jere, said the training has been an eye-opener as she has been equipped with knowledge to adopt crops that are resistant to diseases and adverse weather conditions to counter climate change effects.