NEWS:

28 Apr, 2016


Dr Wiyo
Meet Dr Kenneth Wiyo, an Associate Professor of Soil and Water at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). Also known as "Bwampini" after the character from A.E. Dziko’s book for his go-getter, visionary personality, Dr Wiyo has singlehandedly planted over 100,000 trees in Lilongwe and Ntcheu districts.

Influenced by his late father, Dr Wiyo has been planting trees since he was very young. Since 2006, he has planted over 10,000 trees yearly. According to Dr Wiyo,"This year, 2016 already, i have planted some 8,000 trees in Lilongwe reaching a total over 100,000 trees planted. About forty thousand of these trees are in Lilongwe District and about 60,000 trees are in Ntcheu District"

Dr Wiyo was motivated to upscale his tree planting efforts because of the sight of deforested bare hills on his drive home from Lilongwe to Ntcheu District. He has planted over 1,000 Mbawa, 7,000 Pine, Gmelina and Senderella trees for timber, Bluegum for poles and Acacias for firewood. He has also grown a variety of fruit trees including 2000 banana plants. He sells the poles and firewood throughout the year but on sustainable basis_cut one, plant some.

According to him;"The income is not bad, it beats tobacco income. That’s why everybody is scrambling for trees in Chikangawa, Dzonzi and Dzalanyama Forests. It’s big business. I can comfortably retire today from my job if I wanted to."

When asked of the challenges met in his efforts, Dr Wiyo explained that there have been cases of bush fires sometimes deliberately set by arsonists to frustrate the effort.

"Initially, my relatives did not appreciate the trees and were uprooting them but over time they have seen the value of the trees through home use, income for poles and firewood. Once in a while, people steal the trees but you do not give up a cassava field because of one mfuko rodent."


So what’s next for Bwampini?
Now that the forests are grown, He is investing his energies on management and protection of the trees while sustainably harvesting them for timber, poles and firewood."I am not completely done with planting trees. I feel sick when I do not plant a tree in any one year. I will reduce the number planted but not completely stopping.
Now that I have the forests, I have diversified into bee-keeping. As I am speaking, I have 38 beehives and by the end of this year I will have 100 beehives using timber from trees planted in 1991. I produce good natural raw honey with no additives-no sugar or water added. It is very good for diabetic and immunity-challenged people. And honey brings good monies too."

From Dr Wiyo to all of us
Deforestation is destroying this country through erosion, floods and droughts. Climate change is a reality. We need to hold hands and plant more trees on bare hills, along river banks. We can also encourage tree regeneration. It is fast and effective. Some trees can also be planted along field boundaries, all road reserve areas and around homes and all government public offices. If we do that Malawi will have plenty trees for timber, firewood and poles. Government must take a lead on this. As for private sector, there are big monies to be made in forest plantations as one Bunda Associate Professor can testify!
We at CEPA hope you have been inspired to do more. Happy Earth Day!

(Source: From CEPA Website Blog, posted on Earth Day, 2016)