Raiply Takes Tree Planting Far Beyond Chikangawa Forest
Since the on set of this year’s rainy season, Malawi’s largest wood industry, Raiply Malawi Limited has already planted more than 500 hectares out of the projected 1200 hectares meant for this year’s tree planting season.
The tree planting exercise has been intensified despite the company losing almost one (1) hectare through theft conducted by some community members who have been going around uprooting newly planted seedlings.
Speaking on behalf of the company’s Chief Executive Officer, at compartment 133 in Kalungulu section of the Chikangawa Forest and Thanthe Primary School where the official tree planting season was officially commissioned, Raiply’s Public Relations Officer, Dalitso Chimwala stressed that the company has a forest area management agreement populary known as a concession agreement which sets out parameters of operations.
“Our concession agreement sets out activities, targets and deadlines, we gave government (Department of Forestry) our work plan detailing how many hectares we are to plant in a certain area and in which year and it also specifies the types of species to be planted.
“If we don’t meet those targets, we will be questioned and probably some sanctions will be applied so it worries that some individuals are uprooting newly transplanted seedlings either to plant in their own woodlots or to sale,” Chimwala said.
The Raiply’s spokesperson further said this setback will likely affects plans on time lines and other tree management activities hence appealing to chiefs to help in sensitizing the communities around the Plantation the importance of taking care of the forest.
Meanwhile, in Implementing an elaborate afforestation programme with surrounding villages and community leaders Raiply Malawi Limited targets community groups, such as schools, churches, and some leaders such as village heads believing that everyone belongs to these communities and giving seedlings to a school to establish a woodlot means individuals have also benefited from the free seedlings.
In his remarks, Inkosi M’mbelwa V of Mzimba thanked Raiply Malawi Limited for the merit based secondary and the seven university students support scheme which he said is the primary tangible way of giving back to the community apart from constructing school blocks and distribution of desks.
Presiding over the tree planting exercise on behalf of the responsible minister, Eisenhower MKAKA, the Director of Forestry, Stella Gamah, said forest covers helps in providing good health apart from the revenues that contributes to the country’s tax base.
“Trees plays a great significance role that goes beyond timber harvest, we need to plant more trees across considering the country’s population growth, those encroaching, vandalizing property in Chikangawa Forest should immediately be reported to the authorities,” Gamah said.
On 23rd December 2022 His Excellency the State President, Dr Lazarus Macarthy Chakwera presided over the inauguration of the 2022/2023 National Forestry Season at Mangochi Palm Forest Reserve, where I was joined by government officials, traditional and religious leaders and members of the community in planting over 2000 tree seedlings.
