Following the global commemoration of World Soil Day on December 5th, Director of Land Resources Conservation in the Ministry of Agriculture, Gertrude Kambauwa, has highlighted crop rotation as one of the most affordable and effective ways of restoring Malawi’s declining soil fertility.

Speaking to Zodiak on Friday, Kambauwa said severe soil degradation remains one of the country’s biggest agricultural challenges, largely driven by long standing poor land management practices.

“Continued reliance on traditional farming methods, overdependence on single-crop production, and the use of inappropriate chemicals has seriously degraded the soil, resulting in low crop yields in this country,” she said.

Kambauwa added that soil conservation must now be treated as a national priority to strengthen food security and climate resilience.

She has since called for collective and sustainable action to reverse the degradation and promote healthier and more productive farming systems.

Meanwhile, a soil expert and founding Director of the Permaculture Paradise Institute, Luwayo Bizwick, has emphasized the need for stronger law enforcement and more effective implementation of environmental conservation policies to curb practices that accelerate soil degradation, including charcoal burning and illegal mining.

“People tend to remain in their comfort zone, engaging in activities that promote soil degradation because policies and laws on environmental conservation are not seriously enforced,” he pointed out.

For the past three years, Malawi has registered a gradual decline in agricultural production, particularly maize—the country’s staple food.

According to Bizwick, the continued loss of soil nutrients is one of the contributing factors to the country’s reduced yields.

This year, the world commemorated World Soil Day under the theme “Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities,” underscoring the rising importance of soil health in both rural and urban environments.