Women in agriculture urge students to embrace tree planting culture
In a quest to combat effects of Climate change in the country, Malawi African Women in Agriculture Research and Development (MAWARD) has urged Secondary School Students to take tree planting as a habit and make sure that the trees are taken care of.
The call was made on Saturday as the group led Chigoneka Community Day Secondary School Students in Lilongwe in a tree planting exercise where about 250 trees were planted.
Speaking during the exercise MAWARD representative Dr. Ruth Magareta said as women in Agriculture they do realize the importance of conserving and doing justice to the environment as such engaging the youth in the same course is of essence.
“Planting trees is just one drop in the ocean of solving the challenges that Malawi as a nation is facing, if you may recall, a lot of trees have been cut without replacement as such we decided lobby the students to take action and make contribution toward reforestation.
“We chose Chigoneka Community Day Secondary School because the school is located close to Lingadzi River and we know that planting trees is one way of preserving the Catchment area of that river,” she said
Before the tree planting exercise the women also organized a motivation talk session encouraging the students to work hard in their academic endeavors if their dreams are to come true.
Chigoneka Community Day Secondary School Head Teacher Benadetta Chitwere said they will make sure that all the trees planted are properly managed.
Chitwere said the trees will greatly benefit their school through increased forest cover which prevents flooding and help in prolonged water holding capacities to some streams that surround the school including Kaning’a and Chagoma streams among others.
“As a Head Teacher I am very happy and even the community is happy because this initiative is not only going to benefit Chigoneka School but the entire community as well.
She reaffirmed the commitment to set the ball rolling by mobilizing students to take responsibility in planting more trees and caring for them.
The Malawi African women in agriculture research and Development is a brain child of the African Women in Agriculture and research Development (AWARD) a career development program based in Kenya which through tailored fellowships equips top women agricultural scientists across sub-Saharan Africa to accelerate gains by strengthening their research and leadership skills.
Malawian women scientists have benefited directly from AWARD fellowship program since its inception in 2018.Among the benefits registered by alumni include promotions, enhanced leadership abilities, increased engagement with farmers and greater visibility.
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