By Maxwell Kudzala
Mangochi, Mana: Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa of Blantyre Arch Diocese has distributed bags of fertilizer to 75 elderly people in his home village of Traditional Authority Jalasi in Mangochi.
The fertilizer distribution of two bags to each beneficiary at Msusa’s home village of Iba, Group Village Head Mponda, came following financial support from Msusa’s partners in Chicago in the United States of America.
According to Msusa, the fertilizer donation to his home area was part of Christmas festive season celebration, saying most farming families were prepared to plant maize following the first rains.
“A bag of sugar would have been enough, but at this moment people need fertilizer so that they apply in their fields and this is why I thought of giving them fertilizer,” he said.
The Archbishop Msusa, therefore, advised the beneficiaries not to sell the fertilizer as this would defeat the intended purpose of achieving food security at household level.
Appreciating the donation, a representative of Group Village Head Mponda, Aida Selemani thanked Msusa for the generosity, saying the donation had come at the right time when most of the elderly in the area had no means to buy fertilizers.
She, therefore, assured Msusa that the recipients would use the fertilizer accordingly, saying the recipients were among poor farming households who depend on farming for a living.
Selemani further assured Msusa that the recipients of the fertilizer were fairly selected based on the fact that they were farming households with already prepared pieces of land and were ready to apply the donated fertilizer.
Each beneficiary received two bags of fertilizer (NPK and Urea) per government standards.
