MUDZI - In a move to mitigate the effects of climate change in the countrys arid areas more than 1000 poor families here are set to benefit from a massive Jatropha project initiated by an Environmental NGO. Environment Africa (E-Africa) Regional Manager, Barnabas Mawire, said it was important to engage people living in these areas with projects which dealt with the effects of climate change. The needs of local communities must be fulfilled first before we politicise such projects as the Jatropha which have a great potential to alleviate their suffering while at the same time responding positively to climate change. We can not talk of producing bio-diesel from Jatropha produced by poor communities when the producers do not benefit from their resource.
“We therefore decided to empower the communities first through the Jatropha project, where they are get products like, soap, fuel, oil, vaseline and the residue which they use as fertiliser.
“We will be encouraging them to plant more Jatropha, thereby mitigating the effects of climate change through increasing vegetation and economically empowering them. We feel that this works because if rains fail the communities have some source of income other than depending on communal farming.
“We have started with Mudzi which is a semi-arid area and we are planning to spread the project to all arid regions of the country. The organisation is working in nine wards of Mudzi district where it offered training to the groups on how to plant Jatropha, process it and get various products they use at community levels.
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