By Alinafe Nyasulu

An agriculture expert in the country, Tamani Nkhono Mvula, has advised government to prioritize investing in diversified agriculture if the country is to be food secure at all times.

The expert said this following a Christian Aid global report on climate change and food security index which has ranked Malawi on position 7 with a risk of 32.4% food insecurity.

Nkhono Mvula said: “It’s unfortunate that an agro-based country like Malawi is at risk of food insecurity due to lack of crop diversity and wrong priorities being put in place by the authorities.”

He has since urged government to focus and investment much in smart agriculture for the benefit of the country.

Concurring with Nkhono Mvula, National Youth Network for Climate Change Programs Manager, Dominic Nyasulu, said government should also start prioritizing issues of environmental degradation to address the matter.

“Our nation must critically look into issues of land and environment degradation as they are also the major contributing factors to climate change,” he said.

The Christian Aid report, which assess the effects of climate change and global warming, has also ranked Burundi as the most food insecure country with 23.9%, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on second with 26.1% followed by Madagascar at 27%.

Reads part of the report: “One of the primary threats to human life caused by climate change is food insecurity particularly in the southern Africa where people are more reliant on small-scale agriculture and are vulnerable to droughts, floods and extreme weather.”