Irrigation Budget Prioritisation Solution For Malawi Poverty, Hunger- Uladi

Uladi

Leader of Peoples Party in the National Assembly and Salima South legislature Uladi Mussa says Malawi can eradicate poverty and hunger within five year period by implementing irrigation led budget.

Speaking in an interview, Mussa said having a national budget with focus on irrigation farming is a solution for the country’s persistent hunger and poverty.

He suggests allocating almost half of total national budget to irrigation and construction of dams in all constituencies across the country with other sectors given only operational budget.

“Irrigation is a source of increasing economy in this country.” said Mussa and continued; “The problem in Malawi is water, if you see any piece of land being dry that is a sign of poverty. But the best way for Malawi to enhance its economy is to irrigate the land national wide. 

For instance, we have a budget of K900 billion. Why can’t we say then that this year half of the budget will be going into irrigation? After a period of five years hunger will be no more, poverty will be eradicated and maybe we can even stop this Farm Input Subsidy Programme because smallholder farmers will be empowered economically. They will be able to generate income own their own and be able to buy fertilizer.”

He said this is achievable because most of developed Countries like China, United States of America among others are doing well economically because they intensified irrigation farming.

“The whole land was green throughout the year, people were able to grow crops two to three times a year and their governments were coming up with local and export markets for those harvest.” Said Mussa 

He made emphasis that with its efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger Malawi should borrow leaf from numerous developed countries whose their poverty levels are low because they are doing well in irrigation farming. 

The Salima South legislature was however pessimistic that Malawi is ready to take such a bold decision at the moment looking at how it is failing to manage irrigation farming programme called Greenbelt Initiative in Salima district. 

“There is no hope for irrigation, government has sold Greenbelt Initiative to a private company Appolo International.” He said