Assistance Chief Agriculture Officer for the district, Owen Kumwenda, confirmed to Zodiak Thursday in an interview that so far, a total of 176 hectares of crops have been confirmed to have been damaged in the area of Senior Chief Mponda.

“Our officers are on the ground for assessment and out of the 176 hectares inspected, we have 660 households that have been affected,” said Kumwenda, adding that most of the affected crops are maize, rice, cassava, tomatoes, sugarcane and sweet potatoes.

But Kumwenda said they are yet to establish what has happened for the Lake to swell as the district has not received rains for some time now.

“Some are saying it might be the effects of the barrage at Liwonde but I don’t think so because if it were the barrage, the effects could have started at Liwonde not here,” explained Kumwenda.

Some people suggest it might be the results of the heavy rains that the central and northern parts of the country experienced this year.