By Grecium Gama
As Phalombe district is well-known for disaster shocks, Phalombe district commissioner Rodrick Mateauma said the council has geared to use the social support for Resilient livelihoods(SSRL) projects to shield areas where disaster heavily affects people.
The district commissioner was speaking this when he was monitoring some climate-smart enhanced public works programs that have been rolled out in the district.
He said this season people will not only focus on planting trees but they will try to use other fast approaches.
” this year we have trained local structures to a holistic approach to improve soil fertility and arrest land degradation in the district. we are constructing some dykes in traditional authority Jenala, especially in Phalombe river, “, He explained.
Group Village Chiopsa from Traditional Authority Nkhumba said so far they have assigned people who have gardens along river banks to be watchdogs of the trees.
He warned that if the trees that will be planted in the gardens would be destroyed, the owner of the gardens will be paying a fine.
“If those trees will be destroyed by fire or uprooted, the owner will be fined K20,000 or pay a goat for every tree. So we are doing this to bring back forests in our river banks, to be protected from the disaster that destitute us every year,” he said.
with financial support from World Bank. The project is facilitated by the National local government financial committee,
Phalombe district council has over 18000 house hold that is benefiting from Climate-smart agriculture
