LOWER SHIRE REGISTERS LOW MAIZE YIELD

The lower shire has registered low maize yield in the 2020/2021 farming season due to bad weather, the Minister of Information Gospel Kazako has confirmed.

Kazako made known of the development in Lilongwe on Tuesday while attending an event called “Celebrating the Fruits of Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP).”

According to Kazako, data collected from the country’s Agricultural Development Division (ADD) are showing a projected increase in the maize harvest, except for Lower Shire.

The Shire Valley ADD which comprises Chikwawa and Nsanje district has maize harvest projection dropping by 13.9 percent.

Meanwhile, among the ADD that registered an increase in maize yield is Mzuzu ADD with a 29.7 percent increase, Blantyre ADD with 18.8 percent, Lilongwe ADD with 16.6 percent while Machinga is expected to register an increase of 16.8 percent.

However, the event marks the celebration of the anticipated bumper harvest which has partly been necessitated by the AIP which has benefitted over 3 million people.

Among the notable figures that patronized the event are President Lazarus Chakwera, Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe, and other government officials.