Mambwe farmers urged to adopt Climate-Smart Agriculture and Sustainable Forest Management
Farmers in Mambwe District have been urged to embrace Climate-Smart Agriculture and sustainable forest management practices to improve crop yields, strengthen household food security and protect the environment against the effects of climate change.
Mambwe District Crops Officer, Abinala Mvula, said farmers should overcome the perception that Climate-Smart Agriculture is complicated and begin by adopting one technology at a time.
Mr. Mvula observed that many farmers consider Climate-Smart Agriculture difficult because it involves several practices, including manure and fertilizer application, crop rotation, crop diversification and other conservation techniques.
“Farmers feel Climate-Smart Agriculture is difficult because it involves a lot, like fertilizer and manure application, crop rotation, crop diversification and many other activities that make people feel that Climate-Smart Agriculture is a big thing,” he said.
He, however, encouraged farmers to start with one technology and gradually introduce additional practices in subsequent farming seasons.
“My encouragement to those farmers who would like to start Climate-Smart Agriculture is for them to start with one technology and keep adding more technologies in subsequent years. In the end, farmers will find themselves practising Climate-Smart Agriculture,” Mr. Mvula said.
The Crops Officer stressed that adopting climate-smart farming practices was essential for improving agricultural productivity, warning that conventional farming methods, if continued without adaptation, would not deliver improved yields and could worsen household food insecurity.
“Climate-Smart Agriculture is the only way to go for better yields. The old way of farming will not take us anywhere because the yields will not improve, and the end result will be hunger at household level,” he said.
Meanwhile, Forestry Department representative for Mambwe District Leya Sinkala called on farmers to strengthen forest conservation by protecting trees and avoiding the unnecessary clearing of large areas of land.
Ms. Sinkala urged farmers to stop indiscriminate burning and cutting trees from the base, highlighting the important role trees play in soil conservation and water retention.
She emphasized that protecting forests and adopting sustainable land management practices were important in safeguarding natural resources and supporting agricultural activities.
And Eastern Province Jurisdictional Sustainable Landscape Programme (EP-JSLP) District Project Officer for Kasenengwa and Mambwe districts, Tobias Phiri, said the programme aims to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.
Mr. Phiri urged farmers and local communities to conserve nature and protect the environment, noting that trees have both environmental and economic value.
He likened trees to a purse in which money is kept, explaining that trees store carbon, which can translate into financial benefits when carbon is traded.
The three officials were speaking during an EP-JSLP-sponsored Radio Talk show programme on Mnkhanya Community Radio Station in Mambwe District, aimed at sensitising farmers to climate change, sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation.
The programme highlighted the importance of combining climate-smart farming practices with responsible forest management to build resilient farming systems, improve productivity and safeguard natural resources for future generations.
Story and Photos by Mathius Zulu-NAIS
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