The Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) has challenged agricultural extension workers in the country to encourage communities to adopt new farming technologies and systems in the wake of climate shocks that Malawi is experiencing.
LUANAR Vice Chancellor Professor Emmanuel Kaunda has said this at the opening of the Food Systems Governance training for extension workers, drawn from Mzimba and Rumphi districts.
“Our yields of maize and other cereal crops have not been good enough and our people may starve, but it’s up to us as extension workers to find practical solutions to such challenges,” he said.
He has since called on extension workers across the country to appeal to farmers in their Extension Planning Areas to diversify, plant early maturing crops as others venture into irrigation farming.
Mzuzu Agriculture Development Division programme manager, Anderson Chikomola, has described the four day training as key in fighting climate shocks and widening knowledge gaps among extension workers.
By George Mkandawire
