Greenbelt Authority completes phase one of Mlambe Irrigation Scheme

By Alick Majid

The Greenbelt Authority (GBA) says it has completed phase one of rehabilitation works at the Mlambe Irrigation Scheme in Mangochi.

Gideon Zumani, GBA Agriculture Production Officer Gideon Zumani says the first phase was covering 48 hectares out of the scheme’s total 800 hectares of land.

Zumani noted that 99% of the work on this phase has been finalized, with ongoing efforts to address the remaining tasks left by the contractor.

During an inspection of the irrigation scheme, Zumani provided updates on crop production, stating that the early variety TK 8023 crop was planted on July 15, and 12 hectares have already been harvested out of the 48 rehabilitated hectares.

He highlighted the involvement of local farmers, noting the benefits of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the farmers and the Greenbelt Authority.

“In terms of clearing land, planting, and irrigation, we recruited local farmers to work here. We did this because whatever operations or agro-economy activities are happening here, they should emulate them in their fields,” Zumani explained.

“The MoU stipulates that 30% of the produce will remain with the farmers, while 70% will go to Greenbelt, which will distribute it to food reserve agencies that will sell to other farmers who did not have the opportunity to grow crops in their areas,” he added

Zumani revealed plans for phase two, targeting an additional 350 to 400 hectares.

However, he acknowledged challenges faced during the phase one rehabilitation that included the inability to level some fields, which affected water channeling and yield per unit area.

Despite the challenges, Zumani expressed satisfaction with the progress and its alignment with Malawi’s Vision 2063 development agenda, particularly in industrialization and forex generation.

“Nowadays, there are a lot of products that we can export to other countries, like chilies, which are marketable in places like India and may bring in foreign exchange,” he noted.

Phillip Mkwera, president of Mlambe Mega Farm, also expressed gratitude for the rehabilitation efforts.

The project is part of the Greenbelt Initiative, which aims to accelerate socio-economic transformation in Malawi by championing large-scale commercial irrigation through efficient use of land and water resources.