By Florence Wesley
Utawaleza farm project is one of income generating activities done in the diocese of Mangochi. This farm is located in Nansenga village, Traditional Authority Mponda in Mangochi district, along the Monkey-bay Road. It was established in 2003 with an initiative of Fr. Federico who was serving at Koche Catholic parish in the same diocese. When he was transferred, the farm remained idle for some years up until bishop Montfort Stima took over the diocese of Mangochi in 2014. It is bishop Stima who has transformed the farm into the way it is as of today.
Utawaleza farm does farming and production. Under production, they produce briquettes (locally known as makala a makono), organic manure, biogas, tree nursery, solar drier and bee keeping. Under farming, they have the following crops: vegetables, tomato, green maize, onion and many more.
According to Utawaleza farm manageress Miss Cecilia Joseph, people should not be involved in the practice of destroying the environment, like cutting down trees to burn charcoal, which has brought weather crisis here in Malawi. Instead, they should start using briquettes in order to preserve the environment.
For organic manure, they have the following: pure organic manure, NPK organic, Urea organic and liquid fertilizer which can also be used as pesticides of vegetables. Considering the increase in prices of chemical fertilizers, it is expensive to purchase for most small-scale farmers. Therefore, they encourage people to start using organic manure in their farms because they are cheap and readily available. She also said that it is their wish to produce more organic manure and supply to farmers. The manure is packed in different packages so that farmers can buy according to their capacities (5 kilograms, 10 kilograms, 20 kilograms and 40 kilograms).