Experts for climate change solutions’ budget

Godfrey Mfiti
An environmental expert Godfrey Mfiti hopes that the budget allocations towards the agriculture sector focus on funding initiatives that will help cushion the public against challenges induced by climate change.
As it stands, most parts of the country have been experiencing drought causing withering of crops – a situation that is pointing towards an impending hunger situation.
In an interview with www.capitalradiomalawi.com , Mfiti suggested that finance authorities should provide funds for initiatives aimed at promoting drought resilient agriculture.
He said: “The focus should be on irrigation initiatives targeting communities in all the constituencies because this can help agriculture authorities to create mega farms which can be managed by cooperatives.”
The environmentalist further advocates for an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems that are already existing within the communities
“The community mega farms should adopt agro-ecological systems and permaculture principles which can be replicated in individual households thereby enabling them to deal with emerging issues,” Mfiti explained.
In a separate interview however, DPP leader in parliament Mary Navicha suggested that government must come up with a special fund targeting small scale farmers who are struggling with the ongoing drought
Some ecologists have argued that the implementation and adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) in southern Africa can yield benefits in three ways; by reducing agricultural Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, contributing to sustainable improvement in agricultural productivity and by contributing to increased incomes and food security in the region.