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Villagers turning into refugees
By
by George Ntonya - 07-08-2002 |
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Malawians employed as tenants on their own land
Like in other districts a majority of smallholder farmers in Dowa have no food of their own. They are helplessly looking to govern-ment and donor organisations for relief items.
But Skaver Kazika from Mitembo Village in the same district is an exception, and has a different story to tell. He is one of very few hard working smallholder farmers in the country who harvested enough food to take them to the next season, nine months down the line.
Kazika, 23, is a shining example of a workaholic in an area where the majority of smallholder farmers, especially men, spend much of their time on beer, gulewamkulu (traditional dance) and other pastime.
When his fellow villagers flock to canteens at Dowa boma or nearby Dzaleka Refugee Camp to drink tea or beer, Kazika is seen working in his field. He is one of the people in the district who own fertile wetlands that stretch from Traditional Authority Mkukula to Traditional Authority Msakambewa. And for the past few years he has put his wetland to profitable use.
A JC holder, Kazika has taken farming as a full time business. He takes advantage of the perennial food shortage among his folk to make a fortune out of his land. During the rainy season he grows maize and other crops upland. He shifts to the wetland (dambo) when the rains are over.
“I grow maize twice a year. During summer I sell the maize when it’s green because it fetches better money,” he said in an interview recently.
From three acres Kazika grew maize that fetched him K7,000 last summer. He could have fetched more if his fellow villagers did not steal part of his crop.
“I would have realised a lot more if it weren’t for thieves who stole some of my maize,” said Kazika who won the hearts of Minister of Agriculture Aleke Banda and other officials who witnessed the presentation of free maize seeds to smallholder farmers in the area from Press Trust for winter cropping a couple of week ago.
If the country had a good number of people like Kazika there would not have been the question of food crisis, observed the minister.
Kazika impressed the minister so much that he instructed officials to give the young farmer 10 kilogrammes of seeds instead of the standard two kilogrammes.
“Whoever has the will, strength and land must receive enough maize seeds,” the minister said at Mitembo Village.
Ironically, people from Mitembo and other villages are slowly turning themselves into refugees. Instead of cultivating their pieces of wetland, they let them to asylum seekers from Dzaleka Refugee Camp. The refugees in turn employ the landowners as casual labourers and grow tomatoes and other horticultural produce.
For the past three years the refugees have been major suppliers of tomatoes not only in Dowa, but also in Lilongwe.
Wondered the minister when the villagers unanimously and repeatedly pleaded for relief food: “Until when will the government give free food to the people?”
According to the minister, it is better for the government to teach people how to catch fish than fish it for them all the time.
“If you look after your fields well and use the seeds and fertiliser well you will produce enough food for your households,” he advised.
Like other Sadc member states Malawi faces an acute food shortage, which may result in widespread cases of malnutrition. While donor countries and agencies have pledged support to cushion the situation, the government has decided to distribute free seeds to smallholder farmers who have wetlands throughout the country.
At least 300,000 farm families are expected to receive free seeds for the winter cropping under the Targeted Input Programme (Tip). If they look after their crops well the beneficiaries are expected to produce not less than 75,000 metric tonnes.
Press Trust is one local organisation that has decided to help the government avert another food crisis. It has set aside K5 million for purchase of seeds and fertiliser to distribute to villagers in the country. Seeds and fertiliser worth K200,000 would be given to farmers in Dowa district.
Dimba maize is grown in all eight Agriculture Development Divisions (ADDs) with Karonga and Salima dominating on amounts of maize produced. The country has about 259,000 hectares for dimba farming, where both hybrid and
composite maize can be grown.
In the words of the minister, there is need for people in the country to learn how to catch own fish instead of waiting for free ones. |
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