By Vincent Gunde
Total Land Care Malawi (TLC) in partnership with C-Quest Capital (CQC) says will soon implementing Regenerative Agriculture and Forestry Techniques (RAFT) project in Dowa district in the areas of Traditional Authorities Chakhaza and Mkukula.
RAFT is an 8- year program which will be implemented with the main objective of improving sustainable productivity and resilience to climate change of smallholder farm households with similar interventions being done in Dedza, Mchinji, Balaka, Mangochi and Dowa district.
The program will provide seed of high value crops, Bee-keeping for capable organized groups and production and sale of Tephrosia seed and wood, an initiative to restore forest cover and biodiversity.
Introducing the program to the District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting held at Dowa boma, Total Land Care’s Agri-Business and Marketing Officer Jephthah Maliro, said the program will run for 8 years but year one focus will be on Assisted Natural Regeneration in degraded woodlands.
Maliro said thereafter, the program will include other nature-based solution interventions where implementation approaches will include an integrated community-based approach at the Group Village Heads level and provision of inputs, among others.
He said where communities have done well, incentives will be provided as an appreciation in RAFT interventions such as Natural Tree Regeneration on farmland and degraded woodlands, tree and bamboo planting and Agro-forestry systems and conservation Agriculture.
The officer said among the key benefits of the program are restoring the biodiversity of the natural landscape for multiple products and benefits, increasing soil fertility and crop yields with reduced use of costly fertilizer and increasing water holding capacity and water nutrients for good crop growth.
“The program will plan with the communities to define roles and develop action plans and planting giant bamboos to produce fuelwood and building materials to reduce dependency on natural trees,” said Maliro.
In her remarks, Dowa District Council’s Director of Planning and Development Mercy Mpakule, said the program seems to be an important one as it will help in boosting soil fertility of farmland through planting of Tephrosia seed and wood.
She encouraged partners implementing their various interventions in the district to concentrate in one area to measure the impact of the project to be physically seen and transform the area other than implementing it the whole district.
The description of a collaborative program by Total Land Care with rural communities will be implemented in Dowa district targeting 2,500 hectares at a total budget of 348,738.93 US Dollars and 7,000 hectares countrywide for 1,145,274.11 US Dollars.
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