Government puts up precautionary measures for the forth coming rainy season

The Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development says has put in place necessary measures should the country be faced with any climatic challenges.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2019 monetary policy conference, the Minister responsible, Joseph Mwanamveka, said the country has gone through numerous challenges as a result of climate change.

Mwanamveka said the country’s reliance on rain fed agriculture has also affected estimated yields.

The minister added that they will pump a lot of money towards irrigation in order to reduce challenges in the agriculture sector.

In his remarks, Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Governor, Dalitso Kabambe, said natural disasters have for the past two years affected the country’s inflation rate as a result of low crop yields.

Kabambe said they plan to maintain the single digit inflation rate in the next 18 to 28 months.

However, he said this may not be achieved if the country is unable to grow enough crops.

The country has experienced a number of disasters in recent years leading to the loss 1.7% of its gross domestic product as country’s staple grain, which constitutes 45.2% in the countries in the consumer price index (CPI) has not been performing well.