Chief Agriculture Environmental and Natural Resources Officer, Dennis Emmanuel Zingeni, says government has since secured about 5,000 hectares land where farmers can irrigate and grow early maturing crops.

The affected area is 2,500 hectares.

Zingeni says farmers are being provided with early maturing varieties of crops such as cow peas, cassava tubers and orange sweet potatoes.

Farmers are also being advised to rare chicken, ducks, rabbits, and quails.

Balaka is a rain shadow area from below Zomba mountain right through Nkaya, Manjawila and beyond.