He further says that improved varieties of animals such as pigs and chicken will be useful to the people not just because of their high demand but also because of the manure that will be used to enhance land fertility.
“Animal farming can be helpful to crop farming and vice versa. Improved varieties of animals like pigs and chicken have the potential of changing people’s lives by ending hunger because while the demand for such animals is high, we also know that manure from these animals can help improve land fertility,” he says in the January 27 report.
He adds, “So these animators will be responsible to help people with knowledge and we’re happy as Archdiocese that we’ll surely score highly in ending hunger.”
In the report, the CCJP Coordinator of the Archdiocese of Blantyre, Joseph Kampango, lauds the farming project that has been funded by Misereor saying that the initiative “is an avenue to meaningful peace and justice since it seeks to ensure food availability for all.”
Mr. Kampango says, in reference to the two targeted districts, “In Thyolo and Mulanje, hunger is perpetual. Whether we have good rains or not we’re likely to face hunger because of the shortage of land for farming which makes their harvest last for two or three months and the rest of the months people suffer acute hunger.”
The CCJP Coordinator further says that the improved farming project seeks to increase food security among the people of God in the Archdiocese and that it will focus on the type of crops grown by the people and also animal husbandry.
“This project is to ensure that people are secure by looking at two angles. We are first of all looking at crops in the fields – what type of crops are people planting and their management. We’re also looking at animal husbandry,” Mr. Kampango says.
He goes on to explain that the project has enough personnel with expertise to ensure that it succeeds, adding that veterinary officers have been hired to monitor the animals closely.
“We also have veterinary officer specifically hired for this project to ensure that animals under the project are well taken care of in terms of vaccination and food supplements,” Mr. Kampango says, and adds, “In crop husbandry we also have an agriculture officer who will advise the type of crops to plant, how to make manure and the two will be collaborating.”
The “Global action to defeat hunger” project, which is also being implemented in other areas of the Malawian Archdiocese, is a three-year project estimated at US$446,088.00.
