Zomba project: Food security in the face of climate disasters

Gimlet Mijoga, project monitoring and evaluation officer for the Development Service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi, explains the background to a project that is helping to ensure food supplies in the Zomba district, among other things.

The Zomba district is one of several districts in Malawi that have recently been hit by disasters; poverty due to persistent food insecurity and hygiene problems are the result.
Around 725,000 people live in this district. Severe storms, floods and droughts are frequent occurrences here. Cholera epidemics and agricultural pest infestations are also common. These problems are increasing due to both human activity and climate change.

With the support of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM), the Development Service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi responded to this over a nine-month period with an emergency aid and reconstruction project, which was followed by a two-year environmental protection and food security project. The two projects achieved amazing results in the emergency relief phase and laid the foundations for the longer-term development of food security, economic empowerment, environmental management and disaster prevention. However, building resilience is a long-term process.

Despite the outstanding achievements in the two projects, there were always new challenges, such as the impact of tropical storm Ana. These include flooding, drought, increasing pest infestations and diseases due to climate change, which have an impact on crop production. However, high costs for agricultural inputs, limited irrigation options, restricted opportunities to expand income-generating activities and poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene also make everyday life more difficult.
The Church Development Service is therefore currently implementing a three-year "Project to strengthen the environment and resilience in rural areas" in the Zomba district. It includes economic empowerment, a self-help group approach, value creation and marketing, permaculture, forest landscape restoration, food security, disaster risk management, water, sanitation and hygiene.

The main role of ELM in the project is to provide funding for the implementation of activities, ensure prudent utilisation of funds, and build capacity of project staff in various areas, including monitoring and finance. The project has made tremendous progress in improving the economic situation of vulnerable households and in environmental management.

However, Cyclone Freddy, which hit southern Malawi in February and March 2023 with devastating effects, combined with the global economic and food crisis, has led to an escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Malawi, including in Zomba district. Therefore, initiatives need to continue and interventions need to be scaled up. We want to reach more than the current 300 households.