Participants in the Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) in Rumphi have hailed the programme for providing them with a steady source of income while working to restore degraded land in the district.
They made the remarks on Saturday during payment of their wages at Boma Catchment in Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe in the district.
One of the participants at Boma Catchment, Esther Ng’ambi, says she did not have an alternative source of income as she sorely relied on rain-fed subsistence farming which is seasonal and struggled to meet some of her daily needs such as soap.
She added that the programme is also restoring their environment through activities that are aimed reversing soil erosion and improving soil fertility which include construction of checkdams, swale making and making contour marker ridges.
Another participant, Steve Mithi, a father of two says through the programme he has been able to buy fertilizer which he will apply in his maize field to provide food for his children.
District Project Facilitator for the Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) and World Bank funded Malawi Government programme, MacLean Munyenyembe, is optimistic that interventions being implemented will restore degraded land and enhance communities’ resilience to climate change.
By Manasse Nyirenda, MANA