records of the africa regional vice presidency
TRANSCRIPT
THE WORLD BANK GROUP ARCHIVES
PUBLIC DISCLOSURE AUTHORIZED
Folder Title: Request of the Government of Malawi to the United Nations Special Fund -December 1964
Folder ID: 301611
Project ID: P001590
Dates: 12/1/1964 - 12/31/1964
Fonds: Records of the Africa Regional Vice Presidency
ISAD Reference Code: WB IBRD/IDA AFR
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THE WORLD BANKWashington, D.C.
@ International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / International Development Association orThe World Bank1818 H Street NWWashington DC 20433Telephone: 202-473-1000Internet: www.worldbank.org
PUBLIC DISCLOSURE AUTHORIZED
Request of the Government of Mal
to the
United Nations Special Fund
wS A
Pre-Investment Project -
for the
D- S ntLower and Middle Shire Valley Developme
Request of the Government of Malawi
to the
United Nations Special Fund
Pre-Investment Project
for the
Lower and Middle Shire Valley Development
Zomba, December, 1964.
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CONTENTS
A. INTRODUCTION 5.
Map of Malawi (Map No. 1) 8
Map of the Project Area (Map No. 2) 9
B. SUMMARY 10
C. DESCRIPTION OF THE PPLRBLE2. *ND THE PROJECT AREA 12
1. Position of the Project in the EconomicFramework of th Development oMalawi 12
1. Fundamental data concerning Malawi rand
its Development Trends 13
a) Situation 13
b) Relief mnd Climate. 13
c) DEmography 14
d) Nt2uralRegources and Gross DomesticProduct 16
e) External Trade and Finaridial Situation 21
2. Development Plan of YAalawi (1965-1969) 25
a) The Main Objectives of the Plan 25
b) BudgetaryAllocations 26
c) N ational Development Conmittee 28
d) Actions Considered to Fulfil the Plan 29
II. The roject Area and Its Present Situation 32
1. Selection 32
a) Juetification 32
b) Definition of the Project Area 33
c) Titleof _theProject 33
2. Location of the Project Area and ItsBorders 34
3. Geography snd Geology 36
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4. Topography, Surveys 'and Maps 39
5. Climate and Meteorology 41
6. Hydrology 44
a) Surface Waters 44
b) Sedimont Transport 46
c) Subterranean Waters 46
7. Water Control and W'ater Resourcesevlpment 49
8. Soils and .,cology
a) Non-inundated soils 51b) Inundated marshlands 51c) Surveys 51
9. Population, Nutrition, Health 58
10. Agriculture. 60
a) Food Crop
b) Cash Crop
b)- Research Stations and Trial Plots
.d) Cattle
e) Fores
f) Fisheriesg.) Land Tenure
11. Industry, Power. Comnmunications and Trade 72
12. Education-,and Training Related to theProject 76
13. Existing Reports and Project Proposals 78
14. Supplementary Data and Surveys Requiredfor the Preparation of the Project 82
D. LOWER AND MIDDLE SHIRE V'.LLEY DEVELOP2ENT PROJECT 84
I. Objectives and Actions
1. Flood Control.and Land Reclamation 852. River Improvement and Navigatioh 87
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3. Irrigation and Drainage 0
4. Soil Conservation and Erosion Control 92
5. Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandryand Fisheries 94
a) griculture
b) Forestry
c) Cattle
d) Fisheries
6. Water lower Development 104
7. Water Supply, Sewage, Halth 105
8. Communication 106
9. Rural Sociology 107
10. Agricultural Economy l08
11. Economic Planning and Co-ordination 112
12. Pilot Scheme 114
II.Duration, Phases, Priorities and Organisation
of the Project 117
III.Budget (Personnel, Fellowship and Equipment) 121
1. U.N. Special Fund Contribution 121
2. Government Contribution in Kind 125
3. Total Government Contribution in Cashand Kind 128
IV.Special Request 129
V.Appendices (in separate folder)
Appendix: No. I - Tables
Appendix: No. II - Bibliography andList of Documentsand Maps
Appendix: No.II1 - Maps
r
INTRODUCTION
The Government of Malawi requested the support and
participation of the United Nations Special Fund in the
preparation of a pre-investment project for an integrated
development plan of the Shire River Valley. The request
was forwarded by letter froA the Prime Jinister of Malawi
dated the 25th August, 1964, and was supported by a
description of the Lower Shire River Valley with an attache.
list of available hydrological stations and data on dur-tionD
of observations.
The originral request concerned the Lower Shire Valley
only, However, other considerations proved that the develop-
ment plan to be established should involve the middle stretcI
of the Shire Valley as well. The factors which influenced
this decision will be dealt with later on (see Section 2.
* Nevertheless the min attention should be still focussed
towards the heart of the selected project area, i.-e. the
valley floor (the marshes and the low terraces) of the
Lower River.
The objective of this particular pre-investment project:
is to outline a plan for the integrated utilisation of the
project area, and in order to achieve the proper solution of
the proble-a, tho following questions are to be dealt with
1. The position of the project to be established ii
the framework of the Development Plan of Malawi.
2. Justification for the selection of the project
area as a hydrological,. agronoaic, and economic
unit within the country, and a survey on the
present state of development of the project are;.
3. Main objectives, development phases and duration
of the Lower and Middle Shire Valley development
project (in the following it will also be briefly
referred to as the Shire Valley project), the
necessary action and envisaged staff, and the
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installations and equipment for the Project Team.
4. Budget and financial allocations.
5. A special request has also been put forward for
the pre-financement of three experts for a period.
of four months preceding the project period and
for a very important hydraulic experiment, to
render possible an early and effective commencemeint
and a speedy completion of the project.
Emphasis should be given to the necessity of focussin>
the work of the Special Fund Team, at an early stage, on thc
nucleus of the project area, particularly on the reclamation
of the Elephant iarsh, to provide for a reclamation and
irrigation scheme that could be prepared for an earlier
implementation than that of the other parts of the re'ion.
The completion of the full scale integrated project will
require (according to Section D.II.) a two-year period,
but partial results could be very probably obtained within
one year and could be followed throughout the project period
by additional partial implementation programmes. In order
to cet sufficient agricultural experience it is desirable
to install a pilot farm as early -is possible during the
project period. Therefore a request for investment for r
pilot farm has been made in the framework of the project
(see Section D.1.12).
It can be stated, and this fact has been accepted i-nd
emphasized by the Special Fund Preparatory Team, that wide-
scale surveys and a comprehensive documentation have alr-ad.
been completed by the Government over several decades relatin'
to the development of the Shire Valley. Since the availhi
material gives a very valuable contribution to the final
development project to be implemented, a short-term project
period of two years only may be justified.
To avoid even the smallest loss of time the Governml.rnt
of Malawi has at its own expense, already commenced so:
complementary surveys and operations in hydrological and
meteorological network extension on the basis of recommnend-
-7-
ations given by the Special Fund Preparatory Team (see
Section C.II.14).
3234-
* M AP N?I
-ks
10
12-
12/
1130 *
A0 p
-S 7
M I
a 2 ,0
7R V /
District
District Headquarters 16"
Railways2 I4
Roads, Interterritorial
STerritorial, Ist Class
Other Roads
Lake Steamer Service Ports Kot ota
Airfilds
Contours at 1,000 Feet Vertical Intervals17*
32* 33*6
s
~A T
\ 7yf
;jjj II
&III x
A
:7Q
>1s
- 10 -
B. SUMIL.RY
The objective of the proposed pre-investment project
is to assist the Government of Malawi in drawing up an
integrated water resources and agricultural development plan
for the Lower and Middle Shire River Valley.
The main problems to be dealt with in the project tnre:
flood control and land reclamation, river improvement
and navigation, irrigation and drainage, soil conser-
vation and erosion control agriculture (both improvc-
ment of dry farming and introduction of large-scale
irrigation), forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries,
water power development, water supply and sewage, publIc
health conditions, communications, rural sociology,
agricultural economy, economic planning and co-ordin!tion,
and finally a pilot irrigation scheme.
The project also contains basic research work, dct2
collection, and mapping to fill in minor gaps in these
fields (e.g. ground-water survey, aerial survey of a selecteK
portion of the project area, measurement of sediment tr.ns-
port, etc.)
Considering the comprehensiveness of research, irnpping
and data collection available in the country a special
request has been made on a pre-financement for experts -and
a hydraulic experiment in order to hasten the drawing up u'
the scheme, and to render possible the completion of the
final project within a period of two years, thus produci<g
an adequate technical, agricultural and economical docui-nit
for immediate implementation.
The personnel to be recruited by the Special Fund or
its Executive 'gencies consist of 16 experts, 1 administrativ
officer and 13 consultants representing a total assign-e.&7nt
of 412 expert-months. The necessary counterpart staff rill
be provided by the Government according to the detaild li
given in the following sections.
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It is suggested that the Head Office of the Project
Team located in the town of Blantyre, and a Local Offics
should be established at Makanga.
The budget of the Project consists of the following
items:
1. Special Fund Contribution 1, 731, 900
2. Government Contribution
(a) in kind % 346,604
(b) in cash 105,315
Total Government contribution 451,919
$ 2,89o, 19
3. Special Request for pre-financement 65,700
Special Fund Contributionincluding Special Request $ 1,804,60o
Total Budget 1+ 2 3 $ 2,256,519
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C. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM 'fND THE PROJECT AREA
I. Position of the Project within the Economic Framework of the
Development of Malawi
This pre-investment request devoted to the development
of the Lower and Middle Shire Valley is concerned with a
problem of integration whi-ch has two different aspects:
1) Int6gration within the project frame of all the facto'r
(technical, agricultural, human, economic and social),which could lead to the best balanced development of
the selected area.
2) Integration of the whole of that area in the Malawi
plan of development.
The latter plan remains to be defined. Malawi has not
yet a real plan of development. The one published by the
Government (Development Plan 1965-69) is only a budgetary
five year projection, listing all the projects to be realisd
during the next five years, in order to place the country in
a suitable porition to develop itself as a sovereign state.
Malawi proclaimed its independence on the 6th July, l9?/.,
after 73 years of colonial rule. It was part of the Feder t:>u
of Rhodesia and Nyasaland for the last 11 years. With
independence, the people of MAlawi have reached their prin-
cipal political aim, but economically, Malawi is faced with
many serious problems. These problems stem from both the
geo-political position of the country and from its socio-
economic characteristics. In this enumeration are found
both the exigencies and the priorities of the development
of Malawi.
In order to give a clear illustration on natural con-
ditions and on present situation in the project area,Appendix No. Il is attached to this text comprising 9 maps.
13 -
1. Fundamental Data concer ing Malawi and its Development Trends
a) Situation
Landlocked in Central East Africa, Malawi covers an
area of nearly 48,000 square miles (124,000 sq. km.) of
which the lakes cover about 20 per cent. The country
stretches in length from north to south, separating Zambi]a
(ex Northern Rhodesia) from Tanzania in the North, and
forming a deep gore in Portuguese Mozambique territory in
the South. About 520 miles long, it is only 50 to 110
miles wide. Its most southerly point is about 130 milep
from the sea as the crow flies and 225 miles (360 km.)
from Beira (in Mozambique) which is the sea port for the
country. The shape of the country 6reates serious probLer2
of transportation, its relief aggravates them.
Consequence resulting from the geographical situation
and from the shape of the country is the necessity to iw-
prove and spread the internal network of communications:-
- to increase the cohesion of the Regions (the North
being very isolated at present);
- to facilitiate the collection, the marketing and
the industrialisation of agricultural products;
- to render export products more competitive on the
world market by lowering the transport charges.
b) Relief and Climate
The main point about the relief of the country is the
great depression of the Great Rift Valley which runs rirhi
through its length and which in the north contains Lakc
Nyasa, and in the south, Lake Malombe. Its extension
the Shire Valley.
What ,tempers the climate is the country's altitude
which varies between the altitudes of 200 feet in the
Lower Shire Valley and of 10,000 feet in the highest
mount ains.
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Consequences of the relief and the climate:
The topographic and climatic properties of the country
direct necessarily any wide-scale programme of agricultural
development. The country is rich in water. It is obvious
that advantage should be taken of this favourable circum-
stance by establishing a rational programme of reclamation
and irrigation. One of the principal aims of this requeot
is to ask for the prepar-tion of such a progrmmc by the
United Nations Special Fund.
c) Dernography
Malawi has.one of the highest population densities in
Central Africa. The statistical data are inaccurate, the
census being planned only for 1965, but one can assess that
the population is about 3,800,000 which represents - the
surface of the lakes and the reserves being subtracted - a
density of approximately 100 people per square mile, (39
capita per sq.km.). The contrast'is enormous between this
density and that in Rhodesia (15 people per sq. mile) or
that in Zambia (6 per square mile).
To grasp the importance of the factor called density of
population, better, it must be stated that half of the
population is concentrated in the Southern Region which
only covers a third of the country's surface. The project
dealt with is situated there.
The concentration of the population in the South is due
to the following reasons:
- more arable land
- better soils
- flat land, better cultivation possibilties
- more and easier communications
The country is divided into three Regions (Northern,
Central and Southern), and 20 administrative districts.
The Chiradzulu, Cholo, Zomba and Mlanje districts have an
average density varying between 350 and 450 inhabitants
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per square mile. These districts are all in the
Southern Region and within the project area. The
population is more than 1,000 inhabitants per squar_ r
in certain parts of these districts.
The population of the country has increased by 1<
million people over the last 18 years, which repCesen v
an average rate of growth of 3.1 per cent per year,
is one of the highest rates in Africa. At this r
increase, the population of Malawi will be more Lhan
million in ten years' time. It will have doubled
years' time.
The population of Malawi is essentially agriculturr
Only three centres have the charcacteristics of an ur
centre, Blantyre-Limbe, Zomba and Lilongwe. The fi rs
two mentioned are in the Southern Region. Their pop
tion as a whole only represents 3 per cent of the tnL .
population, This is one of the lowest percentages o
urbanisation in the world.
Until recently, the man power of Malawi was
priacipally by the neighbouring cou:-tries. In 1960
160,000 -1 e-bcQed non were in oerPloyment outside tue
country. In 1962 the nurimber of persons employed i>
Nyasaland s money cconoxm 4w 7 K, 00D. The number of
people who are forced to go oi.t of the conntry io ->tn
their living is greater than the number that find wo'.
Malawi.
Of these, 113,000 were believed to be in Southerr
Rhcaeia, 28,000 in the Republic of South Afiici, and K'-'
in Northern Rhodesia. Because of the~development of
political situation in these countiries, the migra 9 c<.
stream is continually decreasing>
The internal pressure increases in the same propur-ic.
Consequences which are derived from the demograpbir'
characteristics:
- necessity for P repid devlcpmer of the agri
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industry (the orly possible one under present
con6uitions), in order to absorb -he man-power in
excess and to reduce the pressure exertod on tho
- >eccssity for a rapid reform of land tneure: th(
virtually no in aKitant in Malawi, whether in empi -
.2nt o- not. whD does not retain his rights to *tn
use of some parcel o' land in his native villag&
ensure the continuance of his right, he arrangos I,
roEgular cultivation by membErs of his family- Cr
pai d supervisor, This leads not only to the ro J
of innumer&Ulo small parcels of land, but to i
!n-fficicn- ciltivation,
.t1r-c- the econcnic poiLn-G of view and takinr :1-nY..
coneidera'ion the rate of growth of the populai 0
thio for: of tenure leads the country to a very
ifficul{ cconsio .situa-ion.
d) Natural Posourcos and Gross Domestic Product -
In spite of numerous traces of ore-bearing deposits
(bauxite on TMlanje Mlountain, coal on the Tanganyika bor<
iro41 ore -- o;5 its nrth of Blantyro., aDatite - for pao3
phate' - qoith o2 Lake Chilwa, graphite schists in Zhe
and ikhota Knota distiects), it hae ben impossible up
now to set up an axtractive industry. The main reason:
being that the depceits were not important enough as
ensure a profit-able exploitation.
The lack of statist.cal data prevents us from showi
precisely tho iportance o: agricultural production,
constitiuo th- rcn natlral r2sou:rOcs of the countrv'.
But the tabls ( : so ce: Eeto- on .Economi'c De-velopm.
Potential and KrioXites in Nyasaland, United Natio.m
Progrrio o* chnical Assistance, 1962) concerning t
principal com=oditios from Nyasaland in 1962 ( A.ppenrdhpr ,01 -3 0,,.-
.-o.L, I) . a 3cdea of Q: rain product
cro
- 17 -
The main export products are, in order of importance,(from the value point of view);
Volume Value(tons per annum)(V000 per annum)
1. Tobacco leaf 13,953 4,1572. Tea 14,076 3,5513. Groundnuts 37,022 1,8944. Cotton lint 5,013 1,0255. Tung oil 308 3236. Dry beans and peas 11,112 321
7. Rice 10,309 255
To these cash crops one must add, in order to have anidea of the total production, the subsistence crops, which
constitute the basic food for the population, as well asthe samll quantity of products marketed in the country;
Maize between 500,000 and 700,000 tons per annumGroundnuts about 70,000 tons " "
Cassava " 175,000 "It IPotatoes "t 1,000 " i "
To reach the gross domestic product of the whole of theprimary sector, the livestock products which are concen-trated in the Central and the Northern Regions must beadded as well as those fishing products (about 13,000 tonsin 1962):
Cattle Population in 1962 Cattle Distribution
380,000 Southern Region 13.9 per cent
Central Region 52.7 " "
Northern Region 33.4 " "
As for the secondary sector, the main manufacturing indus-
tries are taken up mainly with the processing of agricul-tural products:
- extractive industries concerned mainly with theproduction of building materials;
- industries for primary or secondary processing ofagricultural and related products (grain milling and
- 18 -
other food processing, slaughter houses ana cold
storages, fish freezing plants, timber sawmills,
cigarette factories, vegetable oil mills, soap
factories, manufacture of textiles, blanket factories,
knitting mills, garment factories, etc.);
- printing and publishing industries and some others;
- public utilities (production and distribution of
electric power and water);
In July, 1963, two hundred industrial concerns,
generally of small size, were listed, of which 156 were in
the Southern Region. The scale of their productions is
quite wide, but the industry as a whole accounted for: only
4.7 per cent of the gross domestic product in 1962. For
the same year, the gross product of agriculture, both
modern and traditional, represented 51.7 per cent of the
total gross domestic product. The subsistence and
African rural household services are included in it (see
A p pendix No.I).
Expressed in monetary terms, that is to say, taking
into account only the productions and services which give
rise to monetary operations, (payment of wages, and
salaries, income from enterprises, profits, rents,
marketing of domestic products, etc.) the gross domestic
product exchanged for money does not exceed 45 per cent
of the total gross domestic product, which includes the
subsistence production as well (see, in Appendix No.1)
Between 1954 ,and 1962 the total gross domestic product
increased from about E43.3 million to Z49.4 million, whicni
represents an average annual rate of growth of 4.7 per
cent.
The share of agriculture in this growth increased from
20 million to 25.5 million during the same period, which
represents an average annual increase of 3.1 per cent.
This increase is mainly due to the activity of privately
owned estates (European) whose interests lie with
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commercial production. Nearly all of the tea, all of
the tung, three-quarters of the coffee, none of the cotton,
and one-third of Malawi's tobacco, are produced on estates.
Fifty seven per cent of the total value of exportable
cash crops are produced by the European estates on les2
than 6 per cent of the total land in cultivation. The
African production covers the remainder of the cultivated
area.
Malawi is a land of overwhelming dependence on subsis-
tence agriculture. Nearly 70 per cent of that portion of
the gross domestic product which is generated by agricul-
ture is produced by the native population for its own
consumption. As regards its natural potentialities
Malawi cannot be regarded as a poor country. Its soils
are more fertile than those of its neighbours, its
climate is better, it has plenty of water, its population
is dense (important factor for production), its population
is young (important. factor for progress.. But Malawi is
a country of poor people. And it.will remain poor as long
as it lives on subsistence economy, producing just enough
to live on.
The African farms,, where virtually nothing but sub-
sistence crops are grown, have an estimated gross domestic
product of about E20 per capita, per annum. This incluoeo
the value of subsistence crops. Where the production is
devoted to cash crops, the gross return is about 50 per
annum. On fairly well managed farms producing for export
the average annual cash income per capita reaches betwecn
E250 and 350. Some of these reach 500.
The Iow productivity of the African farm results in not
only a poor peasant class (nearly the whole population),
but it incraases at the same time the pressure on the land,
each one trying to gain quantitively what it loses
qualitatively.
The pressure on the land increases, normally, the
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migratory stream. Since the situation of the neighbouringu
countries stops the export of labour, which was "the maiin
industry of the country", Government leaders have had tc
face a serious unemployment problem. Partly farmers,
partly proletarian, according to the circumstances, the
unemployed increase the pressure on the land. And the
vicious circle of poverty is closed.
The exploitable land in Malawi is estimated at 8.6 rmillioL
acres. Taking into account that it must support a popultcu
of 3.8 million, the arable land "per capita" amounts in
principle, to a little more than 2 acres. In fact, aftei
deducting the natural reserves of forests or otherwise (:"
per cent of the total land area), the cultivable area por
capita is much smaller. One can assume that' it is limit
now already, to nearly two acres of arable land per perzon.
As the percentage of population is increasing, the problum
is extremely serious,
Consequences deriving from both the kind of formation
and the distribution of the gross domestic product:
- As exploitable mineral resources are lacking, the
key to the development of Malawi is the development
of its agriculture; the latter holds in power a con
siderable industrial potential.
- The development of agriculture can only be obtained
by introducing methods of intensive culture able to
increase the productivity per acre. Pressure on tie \
land will be less. The revenue per capita will
increase. That is one of the objectives of this
project.
- As well as the increase in productivity, it is
necessary, in order to keep pace with the demographic
growth, to cultivate all the land recoverable throug
improvement of dry farming, reclamation, soil
conservation, irrigation and drainage. That is the
main objective of this project for the Middle and
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Lower Shire Valley.
- New openings must be found for the increased amount o
cash crops, otherwise the whole programme of develop-
ment is compromised by bottlenecks. The system of
marketing of agricultural products must be rapidly
improved.. The present request is taking this into
consideration for the area concerned.
e) External Trade and Financial Situation
Between 1953 and 1964, during the period of the Central
African Federation, Nyasaland has been in a custom Union
with Northern and Southern Rhodesia. There was no custo.mt
control over the goods that circulated between the three
countries. That is why the official trade statistics for
the last ten years only record the commercial operations
undertaken by the whole of the Federation, considered as
one unit in its relations with the world outside.
An attempt to define the part that is due to Malawi
within the whole of external trade of the past Federation
was made at .the beginning of the year by a team of experts
who drew up the Report on Economic Development Potential
and Priorities in Nyasaland, under the aegis of the United
Nations Programme of Technical Assistance. Considerations
on the External trade are based on the data of that repori
(Appendix No.I).
The exports of Malawi represented E12 million in 1962.
The amount of imports for the same year represented 18.9
million.
Taking into consideration that the total gross domestic
product of the country must reach about 60 million today
( 49.4 in 1962, with a rate of annual increase of about 5
per cent), the imports represent about one third of the
gross domestic product. This is one of the highest per-
centages in the world. It wuld not be so serious if the
amount of exports reached the same percentage. Unfor-
tunately this is not the case.
- 22
The main imports of Malawi in their order of value,
and listed in round figures, are (see Appendix No.I);
Articles
- Piece goods 2,840,00C
- Machinery (electrical and other) 1,076,000
- Motor vehicles and parts 1,009,000
Clothing 935,000
Beverages (in volume, mainly beer) 587,000
- Soaps and detergents 503,000
Sugar 499,000
- Bicycles and parts 387,000
- Chemical fertilizers 326,000
The other products are shown for values below EF300,000
per annum. Among those we find:
- Meat and preparations 60,000
- Milk 59,000
- Other dairy products 199,000
- Wheat flour 213,000
- Other reeli 61000
- Fish and preparations 11,000
- Fruit and vegetables 72,000
- Coffee, tea and cocoa 30,000
-Vegetable oils 19,000
- Animal fats 69,000
The commercial balance shows for 1962, a deficit abome
six million pounds (see Appendix' No.I).
Malawi's ecoromy generates practically no domestic
savings. The country is thus obliged to call on fcrairxr
private capital or on external financial sources in orde:
to begin its development. The "take-off" once secured,
it is thought that savings will make it possible for The
necessary internal capital to be accumulated so as to
ensure normal expansion of the development processes.
Not only is the public saving nil, but the current
- 23 -
budget shows a deficit. Government revenues (taxes and
income from Government property) do not even cover currOn1
budget expenditures. "Every year since the Federation,
recurrent expenditures have been well in excess of ordinary
revenues from Nyasaland sources, the difference being
covered by a share of taxes collected in the Rhodesias and
by grants from the British Government. In each of the
last two fiscal years the deficit thus defined has been
nearly Z six million, representing about 50 per cent of
total government expenditures on current account and 10
per cent of the country's gross -domestic product." (Repor
on Economic Development Potential and Priorities, p.22)1/
The figures given above show three facts which are
mining for the main lines and the aims of the plan of
development:
1) the country's very high dependence on foreign tradL
2) the country's very low productivity;
3) the country's very high dependence on external sour2-
of financing.
The third item arises from the first two.
Consequences deriving from the above facts:
- Absolute priority must be given to actions liable tc
reduce the import of non-essential items and to
increase exports by increasing the productivity of tli
country.
- Imports can only be reduced by substituting the ag
cultura/products actually imported, by local produ-c i:
This also requires both the improvement of cultural
methods, that is to say of productivity, on areas
already farmed and the extension of farming on lan
at present uncultivated. These are the two main
objectives of the present request.
- Productivity being greater in industry than in azri-
culture (and private savings too), it is necessary
order to quicken the formation of capital, to proet
by any means, the industries based on the primary o,
- 24 -
secondary processing of agricultural and related products.
The choice of these industries depends, in the first place-
on the incidence of the industry considered on the trade
balance of the country; priority is to be given to the
industries likely to reduce imports (example: sugar), or
increase the value of export goods (example: cotton in
yarn, sisal string and rope, timber processing etc.).
An expert is foreseen in this project to study the
question, in the frame of the Shire Valley area.
- Because of the determining importance of the human factor
In the processes of production, and because the density of
population is the main wealth of Malawi (if well used),
priority must be given, within the general development, to
these actions which have a direct impact on the most
densely populated areas. From this point of view the
Southern Region is the most suitable sector for extending
new methods of cultivation and best means of land reclam-
ation,
The project area covers more than half of the Southern
Region.
- 25 -
2. Development Plan of Malawi (1965-1969)
In the frame of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
a Development Plan for Malavi was published in July, 1962,
covering the period 1st July, 1962, to 30th July, 1965. TLhis
Plan envisaged - inevitably - only those sectors for which the
Malawi Government was responsible at the time. The Govern-
ment of the independent Malawi is today responsible for the
activities of establishing a new "Development Plan". As it
considers that a period of three years is too short to cover
the phaseof consolidation of Malawi as a completely indepe:d-
ent state, the new Plan covers a five year period, starting
from Ist January, 1965.
a) The ma in objetjives of the Plan
The quinquennial Development Plan forms in fact a
programme of investment and allocation of resources in the
fields considered as having priority, in order to achieve
the objectives laid down:
) the expansion of agricultural production (which account,
directly for over half the gross domestic product) so a9
to provide both for increased domestic production by th.
growing population and also for greatly increased
exportsl
2) the provision for greatly improved internal communico-
tions with a view to reducing transport costs and thus
increasing the competitiveness of the country's agri-
cultural exports in the world market;
3) a great expansion of the facilities for secondary and
post-secondary education so as to provide the skillec
man-power which is essential for development, both in
the Civil Service and in the private sector of the
economy;
4) the stimulation of the private sector of the economy n
in particular, the encouragement of industrial deveol o
ment.
- 26 -
b) BudZetary__allocations
In order to attain these objectives the Plan provides
for a series of 122 projects, apportioned over five yersro,
for a gross sum of 44,637,000. The appoitionment of thio
sum by sectors has been drawn up as follows:
Services Allocation in 2
Agriculture and Fisheries 2,540,00r.
Communications 11,577,000
EducatiQn '7,975,000
Finance, Commerce and Industry 10,592,000
Forestry and Game 1,869,000
Government Buildings 1,275,000
Health 2,331,000
Housing 825,000
Lands and Surveys 775,000
Miscellaneous 2,705,000
Posts & Telecommunications 835,000
Community Development & Social Welfare 129,000
Veterinary 263,000
Water Supplies and Sanitation 946,000
Total 44,637,000
In order of importance of the allocation, the main
effort will be made on the improvement of the network of
communications. The rail and road infrasttucture
determines the rest of the plan. A National Transporta-
tion Plan completed by the experts of U.S.A.I.D. has
examined the problem exhaustively. The projects drawn
up in the "Plan" take their pattern from it (see in
Appendix No.I).
The second allocation, in order of importance, is the
one put aside under the title "Finance, Commerce and
Industry". The projects contemplated are concerned with,
- the organisation of the population census, in 1965;
- studies of the market;
- development of the co-operative movement;
- 27 -
- creation of three co-operative wholesale consumer
supply societies to aid small-scale rural traders,
- ten million pounds are put aside, under the same
title, to create a Development Corporation. E25,000
credit was already voted in 1964, for the initial
capital of this Corporation. It is hoped that the
Government contribution will be increased by capital
contributed by extra-governmental bodies and by
private enterprise.
The Government intends to transfer to the
Development Corporation all the semi-commercial
activities (such as saw milling) at present perfornId
. directly by Government departments. It is hoped
that this Corporation will be able to act as "a
- catalyst for the stimulation of the private sector
. either by participating with private enterprise in
the setting up of new industries or by exploring
directly fields in which private enterprise is un-
willing to venture."
The "Plan" anticipates a sum of E2,540,000 for five
years for "Agriculture and Fisheries". To this sum, uro
added under the title "Forestry and Game" 1,869,000 and
under the title "Community Development and Social Welfarc'
a sum of 129,000. If these sums are not in proportion
with the importance of the problems created by the
agricultural development of the country, it is only
because the resources of the country do not enable the
Government, at present, to foresee the wide-spread actions
which are necessary in these fields. It is exactly in
these fields that the Government hopes to obtain the help
of international sources of financing, and particularly
that of the Special Fund of the United Nations.
The actions anticipated under the titles listed above
are concerned, among other things, with:
- the development of the agricultural education and
- 28 -
training;
- the establishment of two nucleus tea plantations
totalling one thousand acres;
- the development of coffee production by co-operatives
in the Northern Region;
- the development of organised settlement schemes for
cotton production and the equipping and operation of
30 cotton-spraying teams, etc.
c) National Development Committee
In mid-November, 1964, the Government appointed a
special Committee, to be called the National Development
Committee, which forms a planning and co-ordinating organ
responsible for:
1) investigation of development potentials and priorities,
and the preparation, phasing and executiun of the
development programme for both the public and the
private sector of the economy;
2) co-ordination of all activities of the various depart-
ments of the Government with a view to the more effec-
tive implementation of and the provision of adequate
publicity for the development programme;
3) examining and evaluating all offers of external aid and
making recommendations accordingly;
4) making recommendations to the Government on any mattaro
affecting development policy or the machinery of Govern-
ment;
5) advising on any matters which may be referred to the
Committee by the Government.
The Committee is presided over by the Minister of Fin-
ance; its membership includes the Minister of Development
and a number of selected senior officers who hold appoint-
ments related to the activities of the Government as a
whole.
- 29 -
d) Actions Considered to Fulfil the Plan
The Development Committee considers, while interpretin.-
the objectives of the Plan, that the highest priority shou&
be given to the implementation of projects "developing
those resources which could be expected to give the quich:-
est financial return, both in natural resources and in thic
industrial field."
In the agricultural field the Committee recommends as
a priority these projects which would produce the follovivn
increases in the five principal products, by 1970:
Cotton 2.7 million
Tea 2.5 "
Maize 2.3 "Groundnuts 1.8
Fish 2.1
A project for the development of the production of
Turkish tobacco is being carried out through German 'aid,
which should give a financial return by the end of 1970
of at least E175,000.
The Committee expects that three to four million pounds
of foreign private capital would come in t9 the country
during the next two to three years, for the manufacture of
different things such as textiles, shoes, beer, hollow-
ware and assembly of radio sets.
The Development Committee has the responsibility of co-
ordinating the various missions sent to the country within
the frame of the international technical assistance. S,
have already submitted their reports; others are expectel,
in order to help the Government, to draw up a plan of
integrated development of the country and legislation
likely to ensure the right conditions for its proper
execution.
Documentation existing or under preparation:
- Report on Economic Development Potential and
- 30 -
Priorities in Nyasaland (United Nations Technical
Assistance)
- Transportation Plan in Nyasaland (A.I.D.)
- Report on Education in Malawi (Ford Foundation Teal)
- Report on Education (A.I.D.)
- Survey of the Fishing Industry (F.A,.O., not issued)
- Study of the utilization of the Exotic Plantations
(F,A.0., not issued)
- Report on the Agricultural Credit (A.I.D.)
- Report on the Implementation of a Co-operative systmii
in Malawi (A.I.D.)
- Report on Marketing (A.I.D.)
- Report on Rural Industries, Commerce and Credit(i.I.)
Assistance from the following countries or organisations
was requested for the examination of other problems of
general interest or for particulat projects (they are all
under discussion):
- Canadian Technical Aid Authorities - Vipya Woodpulp
Scheme.
- Canadian Technical Aid Authorities - Forestry
utilisation and saw milling
- Canadian Technical Aid Authorities - Feasibility
survey of plywood and pressed board
- West German Aid - Financing of the road Karonga/Flo-r
ence Bay.
- Blantyre/Limbe sewerage survey
- stipply of fertiliser
- World Bank - construction of a two-laned tarceC
road from Zomba via Lilongwe to tn1
Zambia border beyond Fort Manning
- United States - surveying and planning of the lako-
shore highway including the link
- 31 -
from the Great North Road at Liwonde
to Fort Johnston.
- United Kingdom - feasibility survey to investigate*
(D.T.C.) a) a link-up with the Mozambique
Railways at Nova Freixho;
b) the future of the track south of
Balaka;
c) a railway extension from Balaka
to the North.
- Norwegian Tech-
nical Aid - study of the overall potential for
tourism development
- United Kingdom - planning team for the construction o0
(D.T.C.) a new capital
- F.A.O. - Food Programme (Agreed, will start
in 1965)
- United Nations - 1) Expert to train hotel staff
Contingency 2) Adviser to Registrar of Co-oper-
Fund atives
- Expert to train Lake safety officer3
may be requested (under consideratio:
by National Development Committee)
- United Nations - Development of the Shire Valley.
The present request is only one of the aspects of the
considerable effort made by the Government of Malawi to
strengthen its independence. But in view of the import-
ance of the considered sector, it is strongly believeO tha
the development of the Shire Valley will have a direct
influence on the overall development of Malawi.
- 32 -
II. The Project Area and Its Present Situation
1. Selectiot'
a) Justification
In most reports in the past the main emphasis has been
on the Lower Shire Valley proper, but it is obvious that
an up-to-date multi-purpose scheme can only be developed
if a larger economical, agricultural and hydrological unit
can be taken into consideration as a project area. Thie1'
is no doubt about the fact that the selection of a project
area cannot easily be undertaken, since it must be borne
in mind that the real economical unit is the country as a
whole. Since, however, the necessity of focussing the
economical efforts on a more speedy way to a certain
selected region of the country is in specific cases justi-
fied, the main principle of the selection has to be deter-
mined at first.
In the case in question the reclamation of the Valley
floor of the Shire River, including the marshlands, is
considered the nucleus of the programme. An unnatural
division of the river, howeve:, is not desirable for many
reasons. The Lower Shire has the main agricultural
potentialities, while the Middle Shire is rich in hydro-
power sites. Such potentialities are inseparable in a
multi-purpose scheme.
When deciding upon the upper limit of the river stretcai
to be included in the project, a very important hydraulic
aspect should be taken as the basis. It was long ago
anticipated that the water level of, and the outflow fro.,
Lake Nyasa should be regulated at a site situated at the
downstream end of the low-gradient Upper River. On the
basis of correct technical and economical considerations
and preliminary studies the regulating barrage has been
located at Liwonde (see Section C.II.7). Therefore the
Shire stretch between the Hyasa Lake outlet and Liwonde.
can now be taken as a narrow extension of the Lakes (Ny!r-
33 -
and Malombe), since the water-level along this portion
of the. river fluctuates with the lake level. Ft6m both
the hydraulic and agricultural point of view this stretch
and catchment of the Upper River (from the outlet to
Liwonde) has to be joined to the Lake area as another
possible development unit.
In order to outline properly the. multi-purpose plan of
the river valley, the whole hydrological catchment per-
taining to the selected river stretch has to be taken in<
consideration, since the development in general is largr
influenced by the water distribution of the catchment anL
the regime of the tributaries of the Shire. It can be
stated on practical experience gained all over the world
that agricultural and industrial progress, and according,-
human and social development, in a river valley can be
promoted by water and erosion control and soil conservatiwo
on a catchment-wide scale only. Much emphasis should be
given to this principle as in many areas of the Shire
basin, erosion is in progress on a large scale as a con-
sequence of improper land use and farming.
Naturally priorities can and should be given in the
development plan to certain portions of the entire catch-
ment and that will be discussed in connection with the
organisation of the project (Section D.II.).
b) Definition of the ProjectALrea
The project area is that part of the natural (topo-
graphic) catchment of the Shire River which pertains to
the river stretch downstream from the regulating barrage
at Liwonde on"the one hand, and situated within the counr,>
of Malawi on the other (see Map No.1).
c) Titleof the Project
On the basis of the above considerations it is propes;.
that the title of the project should be:
"Lower and Middle Shire Valley Development Project".
- 34 -
2. Location of the Project Area and its Borders
* The project area comprises a great portion of the
southern part of TMalawi and it is about 7,400 square
miles (19,200 square kilometres) in extent, i.e. it
covers about one-fifth of the country's whole territor.w
According to terminology used in the country the pro>6cb
area includes the valleys and the catchments of both the
middle and the lower stretch and even a short reach 01
the upper portion of the Shire River, naturally those
parts of them only which lie within the borders of
Malawi.
The Shire Valley extends from the southern limit
of Lake Nyasa to where the Shire discharges into the
Zambezi in Mozambique. The stretch lying in Tfalawi,
that is from the outflow from Lake Nyasa down to the
point where the river leaves V.alawi, about 15 miles
southward from Port Herald, is 250 miles long. The
stretch of the river situated in Mozambique down to
its confluence with the Zambezi has an additional
length of about 50 miles.
The upper river has a very gentle hydraulic
gradient of arY average of 0.28 feet per mile (about
5 centimetres per kilometre), and extends from Lake
Nyasa to iatope, having a total length of 82 miles.
The upper river flows through Lane Malombe. In the
adjoining second stretch the so-called middle river
flows over a length of 50 miles and falls about l,260
feet in a series of rapids and cascades with an avcr
hydraulic gradient of 25 feet per mile (480 cm. per km.
between Matope and the foot of the Hamilton Falls. T1-
170 miles long lower river from Livingstone Falls to
the confluence with the Zambezi is contained in a
fairly wide flat valley, having an average slope of
one foot per mile (20 cm. per km.) only.
- 35 -
On the basis of the above description it is
obvious that the selected project area contains a
small portion of the upper Shire Valley (from Liwonde
to Matope), the whole middle catchment and the completo
portion of the lower catchment that lies in Malawi.
The border of the project area on the west is the
watershed coinciding with the Mozambique frontier. The
narrow southern extent of the project area is also
bordered by Mozambique, by an east-west line crossing
the northern part of the Ndindi Marsh. On the east
side the Malawi - Tozambique frontier (coinciding with
the Shire River itself) forms the boundary up to
Chiromo, where the Ruo River flows into the Shire.
From here the 11ozambique frontier and also the border of
the project area follow the Ruo up to the southern
extent of the Chilwa Lake catchment. From this point
the border of the project area turns towards the west
encircling a large part of Tlanje Mountain, and reaches
the Blantyre - Zomba road somewhat north of Blantyre.
From this point it follows almost exactly the road
towards Zomba, by-passing Zomba westwards along the west-
ern foothills of the Zomba Plateau and joining the road
up to Liwonde again. The northern boundary of the project
area is bordered by the catchments of the tributaries,
the most important being the Chimwalira, Liwawadsi and
Rivi-Rivi and finally reaches the Mozambique frontier.
The project area' extends approximately from the
150 latitude to the 170, and the meridian of 350 east
of Greenwich crosses the territory almost through its
middle.
- 36 -
3. Geography and Geology
Malawi lies to the west and south of Lake Nyasa,
almost exactly between the meridians of 330 and 360 east
of Greenwich, and between the southern latitudes of 90
and 170. The country is long and narrow in shape runrim
in a south-north direction and is about 520 miles
(830 km.) long and 50 to 100 miles (80 - 160 km.) in
width. The total area is composed of about 37,400 squl-r%
miles of land and about 10,600 square miles of water, i.e.
altogether 48,000 square miles (124,000 sq. km.). The
chief topographical feature is the deep trough-like
depression which forms part'of the Great Rift Valley
and traverses Malawi from the northern end to the
southern end. This trough is occupied by Lare Nyasa and
by the Shire River Valley. The project area occupies the
southern part of the country.
On geological grounds the project area can be
divided into four terrains.
The greater part of the project area (67%) is
made up of crystallice granulites, gneisses and schists.
These are penetrated by dolerite dyke swarms and varios
other intrusions. Metamorphic and plutonic rods form
the bed of the middle stretch of the Shire River, and tY
make up the Shire and Cholo Highlands, the Kirk Range on:
the Port Herald Hills. The great majority of the Shire
tributaries rise and flow for most of their lenogth thro'l
this terrain. Weathering is fairly general to depths ;f
20 feet or more and, locally, there is eluvial cover ol
over 50 feet. In the unweathered state these rocks arc
virtually impermeable, but fracturing, faulting and dykE
intrusion is common. These conditions give rise to
streams of perennial character. Pockets of deeper
weathering and fracture zones can, at favourable
locations, yield subterranean water in amounts adequate
- 37 -
to supply settlements. Yields of 500-800 gallons per
hour (2,300 - 3,600 litres per hour) are commonly
obtained from depths of 100-150 feet (30-45 m.). All
supplies obtained from this terrain have been potable.
According to large-scale studies it can be said that
foundation conditions are good in this terrain. However,
in view of the frequent presence of shatter zones and
joints, detailed geological examination of selected
areas should precede construction projects, especially
in case of dams, shafts and tunnels.
Consolidated sedimentary rocks (shales, sandstones,
marls, limestones) occur along the western boundary of
the Lower Shire Valley. Although their outcrop area is
small (87 of the project area), they may influence the
quality of ground-water over the western Shire Valley
plain between Chikwawa and Chiromo. These sedimentary
rocks are highly permeable. The river courses which
traverse this terrain are generally dry and convey water
briefly only after heavy rain. Most of the wells drille!
in this region yield impotable water.
Plateau lavas (principally basalt) occupy approx-
imately 26 of the project area. Water courses follow
joints in the lavas and carry water for short periods
following heavy rains. Six drilled wells have been
constructed, and they give yields of about 1,000 gallovi
per hour (4,550 litres per hour) from depth of up to 180
feet (48 m.).
Unconsolidated sediments make up much of the Shiru
River plain, occupying 23% of the project area. They
consist of river alluvium, colluvium and drifts.
Although a large number of drilled wells have been
constructed in these deposits, these have been drilled
by methods which yield samples unsuitable for determinin,-
the sub-surface conditions and, therefore, data
- 38 -
concerning subsoil are incomplete and unsatisfactory in
many respects. The problem of exploring the alluvial
sediments and the ground-water table will be dealt with
in Section B.III.6.
Geological mapping on a scale of 1:50,000 is
complete and published maps on a scale of 1:100,000
are presently available for over half the area.
- 39 -
4. Topography, Surveys and Maps
The topography of the project area is highly
variable and it comprises the highest and lowest areas
of the country. For the most part the Lower Shire
Valley lies at an elevation of only 180 to 400 feet
(54 - 120 m.) above sea level. The altitude of the
north-west upland lying within the project area varies
between 1,000 and 5,000 feet (300 - 1,500 m.), however,
the main part of it does not exceed the elevation of
2,000 feet. The bulk of the eastern upland is under
3,000 feet (900 m.), excluding Mlanje Mountain which
rises to nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m.).
Good aerial photo coverage exists for the whole
country including the proposed project area. The
1:40,000 scale original sterio pairs are available.
From the aerial photographs, maps in a scale of 1:50,000
have been completed, with 50 feet (15 metres) contours.
Several special surveys have also been carried
out, e.g. accurate levelling along the River from Lake
Nyasa to the Zambezi, tacheometrycal surveys, detailed
surveys of dam and power sites, etc.
In the lower river valley a detailed survey has
been performed, and therefrom maps at a scale of
1:12,500 have been obtained, covering the marginal loud
along the Shire and the same along the Elephant Marsh ul
to about 100 feet above river level. These maps show
one-foot contour lines on the valley floor. It should
be mentioned that no survey was possible inside the
Elephant Marsh proper due to the inability to gain
access beyond the river margins, and therefore contours
in the permanent marsh area have not been established.
On the basis of maps and detailed surveys, the
most advantageous dam sites have been indicated and
also possible storage capacities estimated, both on
- 40 -
the Shire and its tributaries.
Calculations on hydro-power potentials and ondischarge data and potential heads are available.
The existing maps give sufficient basis for thecommencement and for the first phase of the Special
Fund Project, however, they will not be satisfactory for
the implementation of irrigation. What is more, even inthe second phase of the planning of the Project detailedmaps will be needed for the entire area of the lowlands.Therefore it is required that an aerial survey should beinserted into the Project, covering the low lying valleyareas to an extent of 1,000 square miles. The recommended
scale of the maps should be 1:12,500 with contours at 5ft.(1.5 metres) intervals. The area should include theElephant Marsh, the northern part of the Ndindi Marsh andthe surrounding lowlands with irrigation potential,extending from Chikwawa in the north to the Mozambigqefrontier in the south, bordered by the Bair.a IUghbandsescarpment and the frontier on the east and the Chikwawa
and Port Herald low lying upland and foothills on thewest.
- 41 -
5. Climate and Meteorology
The very uneven topography of Malawi, and thepresence of the enormously big Lake Nyasa, are the mainreasons for the fact that the climate of the country issubject to great variations, even over short distances.One of the areas of highest rainfall in the country,Mla-nje, lies within the project area, and here theaverage annual rainfall amounts to 80 inches. In thewestern uplands of the Shire catchment the average annualrainfall varies between 40 and 70 inches, while in theplains of the valley the annual precipitation in averageis between 30 and 40 inches, but decreases towards thesouthwest portion of the plain where the average annualrainfall drops to 26 inches, (characteristic data : atChikwawa 32 inches, at Port Herald 34 inches). Therainfall in the main valley is generally slightly higherand more protracted on the East side of the Shire Riverunder the escarpment, and is higher aain in the hillson the border immediately west of Port Herald, wherethe annual total reaches a value around 70 inches.Over most of the area the wet season is only of four tofive months duration, alternating with a seven to eightmonth period of extreme drought. The rainy seasonusually starts in late November and ends towards theend of March. The rainfall as regards both totalannual magnitude and its seasonal distribution is lessreliable in the Shire Valley than anywhere else in thecountry. The variation of the annual precipitation isfairly high (e.g. in Port Herald it varies between 15and 50 inches, in Chikwawa between 15 and 60 inches),and in some years extremely unfavourable seasonaldistribution occurs, and so these circumstances mayhave a significant influence on the main outlines ofwater resources and agricultural development.
- 42 -
The mean annual temperature reaches its maximumin the Shire Valley proper, over 750 Fahrenheit (about240 Centigrade), and the Lower River has a much warmerclimate than the rest of the country. Though minimumtemperatures in the Shire Valley fall below 500 F.(100 C.) at times in the dry season (June/July), 1100F.(430C.) is by no means uncommon in the months of October,November and December. The average temperature in thenorth-western part of the project area varies between 65and 750F. (18- 2400.), but the highest temperatures herenever reach the values of those occuring in the Rivervalley proper. The lowest temperatures are observed onMlanje Mountain, where the mean annual value remainsunder 600F. (15.500.).
The climate is classified as Sahelo-soudanean,Mozambique type but in fact the particular climate ofthe valley due to the pressure of the marsh makesecologic situation much milder. It is indeed extremelyimportant for agriculture to note that the relativehumidity in the valley, even in the full of the dryseason, seldom drops at midday under 50%, and the dailyaverage is much higher.
Evaporation data have been obtained at manystations from open pan measurements which may givefairly correct information on evapo-transpiration ofvarious crops and their irrigation requirements as well.Potential annual evaporation, higher than the rainfall,reaches in the south 75 inches (1900 mm.), and isresponsible for the tendency towards alcalinity of thesoils.
The number of the meteorological stations in theproject area is 23, (out of which 18 stations were setup by the Department of Hydraulics), and it is stronglybelieved that the existing meteorological network givesa reliable basis for hydrological evaluations and for
- 43 -
the hydraulic and agricultural planning since bothdensity of the network and duration of observations aresatisfactory. The stations are well equipped with up-to-date instruments. If, however, for any specific reasonthe necessity arises for establishing a few complementarystations, or for supplying some of the existing ones withadditional instruments, this task can be easily takenover, on the request of the Project Team, by theGovernment Meteorological Service (Ministry of CivilAviation) and/or by the Department of Hydraulics(Ministry of Works).
Isohyetal maps, temperature maps and maps showingclimate zones of the country have already, with sufficientaccuracy, been elaborated.
The first aim of meteorological research andobservations until recently has been to facilitateaviation, however, in the last few years action hasbeen taken to extend observations for the specialrequirements of agronomy and hydraulic development aswell. To this end, the Department of Hydraulics(Ministry of Works) has also installed meteorologicalstations located mainly in the Lower Shire Valley.
- 44 -
6. Hydrology
a) Surface Waters
Up to the present the hydrological regime of
the Upper Shire was mainly determined by the
water surface fluctuations and outflow conditions
of Lake Nyasa, i.e. under natural circumstances
the discharge of the Upper Shire was dependent on
the Lake water levels and on the natural formation
of the outlet stretch of the river. The hydro-
logical balance of Lai..e Nyasa is very delicate., so
that a slight variation in average raitrfall
conditions over its catchmeat leads to a
significant change in water level, naturally
throughout a multi-annual period, and that may
be followed by extreme out-flow conditions. A
series of drier than average years caused a
steady decrease in the Lake level to such an
extent that in 1915 almost no outflow of the
Lake occurred. In addition, the Upper River
channel became blocked by sand banks, bars, and
dense growth of reeds. Consequently from 1915
to 1937 the Lake water level rose gradually,
reaching its maximum elevation in 1937. During
this time the obstacles were washed away and the
rate of flow in the Shire gradually increased.
This long-term fluctuation has been accurately
observed.
Water levels of Lake Nyasa have been
continuously recorded since 1896.
In order to prevent extreme fluctuation of the
LaKe level and its adverse effects upon the Shire
regime, the proposed regulating barrage is already
under construction at Liwonde.
- 45 -
Continuous high-rate outflow from the Lake
causes a perennial inundation of the lower river
basin and especially of the marshlands. However,
it has to be emphasised that extreme flooding of
these areas in the wet season is influenced much
more by the unregulated tributaries joining the
Shire below the Lake, than by the outflow from
the Lake proper.
In the selected project area -ore than onehundred hydrological gauging stations exist at
present, and out of them 28 stations are located
along the Shire, while the other ones can be
found on the tributaries and in the marshlande.
The stage-discharge rating curves have been
established for more than 50 stations, in most
cases fully by current meter measurements and
partly by the approximate gradient-area method.
Since about 50% of the stations were installed
more than ten years ago, the data avaialable aresufficient for commencing the water resources
development plan of the project area. The
hydrographs of water stages and sicharges have
also been drawn, and are available for many
sites both on the Shire and its main tributaries
for multi-annual periods.
Automatic gauge recorders have also been
installed all over the country and in the project
area 10 of this type of station are in operation.
Since most of the rivers are of a perennial
nature, a first approach has been made to ascertain
subterranean water supply to the rivers and tocalculate run-off coefficients. In this field,however, a further and more detailed examination
is needed.
- 46 -
Flood stages are recorded and flood dischargesmeasured or calculated approximately by extrapolation,
- but flood probability calculations for the so-calledflood discharges are not available for the entireproject area. It has to be mentioned that valuablecontributions to this matter can be found in theHalorow Report in generpl and in the Nsdaao Rportespecially as regards. tha Lower River.
Estimates on storage potential both on theShire and its tributariea are included in theHalcrow Report.
b) Sediment Transport
The measurement of the suspanded load transporthas been carried out on a wide scale for a longperiod, silt samples have been regularly taken atall main gauging stations both on the Shira and Jttimportant tributaries. The regular work on siltsampling commenced as early as 1951, and at thepresent there are already estimates available oiannual transport of suspended load.
No measurements whatsoever on bed loadtransport have been carried out.
c) Subterranean Waters
Information on subterranean waters in thecrystalline, lava and sedimentary rock regions ofthe project area is given in the item dealing withgeology. In the Shire Valley plain, in theunconsolidated sediments, a great number of wellshave been drilled for rural use, however, thealmost total lack of information on the upmost sat-urated strata and the so-called ground-water can bestated. Unfortunately neither the Halcrow Report,nor the Nedeco Report dealt with this problem.
- 47 -
This fact can be considered as a significant gap
in hydrological research.
There are about 320 boreholes (wells) in the
valley area, which were sunk in order to supplypotable water for settlement (depth varies from
30 to 300 feet). Only the location of the deeplaying aquifers, which were able to supply water
of necessary quantity and quality has beenrecorded, since methods used in drilling have yield-ed samples unsuitable for determining the sub-surf-ace conditions. Therefore data concerning subsoiland ground-water are incomplete and unsatisfactoryin many respects. These drilled wells indicatedthat the thickness of sediment deposit is generallygreat,
Subterranean water drawn from these deposits isgenerally from depths greater than about 70 feet(21 m.): 47% of drilled wells are of 100-150 feet
(30-45 m.), 35% are of 150-200 feet (45-60 m.) and
14% have depths of over 200 feet. This practice isto drill until an aquifer of relatively highpotential yield is reached, casing off any supplyfrom the upper, in many cases saline, strata. Inthe majority of cases, this supply proves to be sub-artesian. It is noteworthy that potable supplieshave been obtained from depth in areas where thesurface soils are saline. Therefore almost nodata are available concerning stratification ofalluvial and colluvial strata (the variousconfined and unconfined aquifers), location andformation of the groundwater table, potentialwater yields, seepage coefficients, chemicalcontents of the ground-water, etc.
- 48 -
The alluvial and colluvial deposits of very
great depth cover an area of 1,000 square miles
- (2,560 square km.) in the Lower Shire Valley,
i.e. the whole of the valley bottom and the surround-
ing plain, and it is obvious that the reclamation,
flood control, irrigation and drainage development
are closely asaociated with alluvium (and colluvium)stratification and ground-water conditions.
t
- 49 -
7. Water Control and Water Resources Development
In spite of the fact that in the field ofmeteorology and hydrology considerable collection andevaluation of data has been regularly done for a longperiod, further detailed multi-purpose investigations havebeen prepared (Nedeco Report) and even though a valuableapproach to an integrated river valley development schemehas been recommended (Halcrow Report), no furthersystematic actions have been taken to establish a finaldevelopment plan and to draw up feasibility reports onindividual structures and projects fitting into the plan.
Under conditions of necessity a few projects(partly on the basis of the former studies) have beenconstructed, but this incidental procedure of implement-ation cannot be followed for long.
The regulating weir equipped with 14 radial gatesat Liwonde is already under construction and will veryprobably be put in operation in the middle of 1965. Thelocation of this barrage indicated the upper limitationof the project area.
The Nkula Falls water power station is the secondproject included in the Halcrow Report, and is now alsounder construction. This diversion-tunnel type powerproject is a low-head development, carried out withoutbuilding a diversion dam in the river. Principal data:design discharge 2310 cusecs (round 70 cu. metres persecond), gross head 165 feet, plant capacity 16 megawatts.The outdoor-type powerhouse will be equipped with two8-MW. generating units and provision has been made for athird machine set to be included later. The power plant
.will be put into operation according to schedule at theend of 1966. It has to be mentioned that the Nkula Fallsplant does not utilize the total potential head of thepower site, since according to previous studies, with a
- 50 -
dam of a height of 66 feet, an under-head of -210 feet,
and considering a higher plant discharge, a total plant
capacity of 50 MW could be attained.
The total investment cost, including the Liwonde
barrage and the Nkula Falls station is 2,500,000.
In the field of land reclamation and water control
no implementation has been commenced in the project area.
In Nchalo a start has been made with a 500 acres
irrigated sugar cane plantation. Preliminary work is
carried out presently, first planting is expected to
take place in 1965.
On the base of experiments carried out in MIakanga
and of, the estate's own experience in the matter,
sprinkling irrigation has been decided upon.
The Nchalo pilot irrigation plot is part of a
more ambitious project by which an annual production of
25,000 tons of sui-ar is contemplated. At an estimated
production of 4 to 5 tons of sugar per acre, an area of
6,000 acres will have to be planted. The area wanted bythe estate represents much more than 6,000 acres but it
appears that many difficulties are already encountered
resulting from intense land occupation and the absence
of well defined land tenure regulations and difficultiesto implement the existing regulation.
- 51 -
8. Soils and Ecology
A comprehensive work on soil surveys has been
made in Malawi mainly under the responsibility of the
D.O.S. (Directorate of Overseas Surveys). The quality
is up to the usual high standard of this body.
a) Non-inundated soils
The fertility of these soils is particularly
high as far as the alluvial-colluvial area is
concerned. The fertility is well above the
average of African soils. The parent material,
rich in micas, is responsible for this through
weathering of this mica and other silicates intomontmorillonite clays, an unusual feature in thetropics. Mineral reserves are high for K, Mg,
medium-high for P. A particular feature is the
absence of ferralitic soils and the rise in
alkalinity in the lower layers.
The physiography of the valley floor comprises,
apart from the marshes which is dealt with furtheron, the following land units:
- The first terrace which is not well defined and
varies with the slow variations of the average
water level in the marsh. They appear under the
form of narrow strips.
- The second terrace which is the main unit in the
whole valley and which occasionally rises up to
90 feet above the marsh.
- Low lying upland to the west of the second
terrace influences the second terrace by its
colluvial and alluvial deposits.
- The dambos are the annually flooded strips ofgrassland.
-52 -
- The east terraces between the marsh and theCholo escarpment have the same characteristics
as the western terraces, but as the area ismore restricted distinction between first andsecond terrace is generally impossible becauseof the fact that both alluvium and colluvium
are intermingled.
A very important characteristic of those soilsis that alluvions of quite different nature havebeen deposited at various times during the formationof the terraces resulting in an extremely complicat-ed pattern in the horizons. A map of the topsoil upto 6 inches depth will show a marked difference toanother map made on the same spot with the samplingof soil between 6 and 12 or 12 and 18 inches. Asthis means that underneath a clayey soil more orless extended sand le-ntils or strata may appear,as it is generally the case, many problems willarise when irrigation is contemplated. Theterrace soils have all a similarity in profileappearance although varying widely in texturalappearance and soil reaction with the profiles.In general the topsoil is light to medium, thesubsoil medium to heavy. In some cases thetransition is sudden and a sand layer isencountered at 3 feet or more. The soil reactionis slightly acid to neutral, alkalinity increaseswith depth. The presence of these sand layers byprovoking a rupture in the capillarity may well beresponsible for the fact that these soils are notso alkaline as they would normally be with anevaporation exceeding rainfall and an undergroundwater supply from the marsh.
The nutrient status is good, K and P content ishigh, N is medium and organic matter is low. Base
- 53 -
saturation is high. The Makanda soils, also onthe terraces, are derived from basic lavas eitheras colluvial deposits or as a r sult of in situ
weathering of the underlaying lavas. The claycontent is towards the high side (20 to 45%).pH is neutral to alkaline. CaCO3 concretionsare present. The nutrient status of those soilsis very high, exchangeable base capacity too.They are the most fertile soils, showing similitudeto the "black cotton soils".
The dambos are poorly drained heavy black clays(45 to 60%), neutral to alkaline in reaction, withsalinisation under the 3 feet level. They havegood mineral reserves but surprisingly low organicmatter. The east bank, although more complex thanthe west terraces, has the same characteristics asregards nutrient status.
The low-lying upland soils west of the terraceshave shallow soils derived from the underlyingrocks and have in general low agriculturalpotential except for small tributary valleys.
b) Inundated Marsh Lands
Surveys of the soils of the marshes done byHuntings and later on by Nedeco have shown thehigh fertility level. Detailed work is stillnecessary for the future, before and afterreclamation, in the form of ground surveys asit has appeared that there is no relationbetween vegetation patterns as shown on the air-photos and the actual soil type pattern.
The whole of this area is influenced by themeanders of the river during the ages resulting ina continuous alteration of the existing layers.
- 54 -
The deposits are of recent and very recent originand therefore exhibit very little profile develop-ment, leaching has not taken place and the mainelement for classification is, therefore, texture.The entire ronge between sand and clays is covered.The parent rocks of the sediments carried by theriver and deposited in the bed of :the river andin the marsh are mainly metamorphic material,schists and gneisses generally rich in mica.Dolerites and volcanic material, basalts andsyenites in some cases, have also contributed tothe formation of the sediment. Potash, Magnesiumand Phosphate are well represented in general.Nitrogen, as may be expected, is not abundant;organic matter is less abundant than one wouldhave expected and average 3% with 8% in somelocations. The C/N ratio is somewhat towards thehigh side. The reaction shows a pH which fromslightly acid-to neutral in the top layer, risesrather quickly to high alkalinity figures in thedeeper layers. Salt content is fortunately lowwith the exception of :the. marginal areas wherethe intense evaporation and the continuous supplyof sub-surface water has favoured a concentrationof salts (dambos).
Once reclaimed the marsh soils, if used forannual crops, may well present some difficultiesin handling them because of their plasticity, butthis is a matter for proper planned use as will belaid down in the Development Plan.
Although a tentative classification of the soilsin their immersed conditions has been made byHuntings showing that 18% fall into class 1, some56% in class 2 and 26% in class 3 leaving 0.06%in less good classes, these figures in regard to
plasticity, to actual level after reclamation, toshrinking, to induced salinity, may well have tobe reclassified after reclamation. This is,however, of little importance and it is highlyprobable that they will almost all remain in theinitial classes. The total of reclaimable soilsappears to be in the vicinity of 107,000 acres.
It may thus be said that both the terrace a-nidthe marsh soils have a high agriculturalpotential which, other factors being catered for,can justify important investments.
c)Surveys
- The whole of the country has been soil surveyed,the southern part is nearing completion (southof Chiromo), soil classification maps have beenproduced or are in the course of printing, landcapability, vegetation, land use, natural areasand agricultural potential maps are available.A particularly interesting work is that of theproduction of the "regional memoirs", one foreach of the three regions, north, centre andsouth. This work covers the whole field ofagriculture and comprises besides the maps(on geology, soils, landforms, major reliefunits, climatic datas, vegetation, agriculturalpotential, land use, natural regions, etc.) acomprehensive memoir and legend giving all theinformation necessary to complete the under-standing and interpretation of the maps. Tothe memoirs are attached, last but not least,all the field records. This monumental workhas been completed and printed for the northernregion; is under printing for the central region,and in the course of being completed for the south.
This will be ready, printing included, for the
end of 1965. The D.O.S. which is dealing with
this will be asked kindly to speed up the work
if possible so that the document would becomeavailable as soon as possible. For the south
it is to be noted that the memoir will have
separate maps on several features, for each ofthe nine districts. This will provide to the
agronomists working in this area a tool which
has most probably no equivalent in Africa.
Malawi has been air-phot.ogmphed in itsentirety, in fact more than once. Th. oldsatsurvey dates from 1948 and was made by the
R.A.F. These photos having proved to be
unsatisfactory, new ones have been taken in
1960-62 and 1964. These are the photos whichhave been used for the mapping (1/50,000 with
contour every 50'). The southern area is
covered by the following series of photograph&s-
Area B 7 Lower Shire 1/40,000 1960
Area B 6 Malombe id 1960
Area Zomba id 1958
- The increase of the population and land
occupation is particularly high in Malawi.
Political changes have interfered with the
land occupation especially in areas set aside
for protection or other reasons. It is feltvery desirable to have a new set of photographs
made of those areas which were not photographed
in 1962 and 1964 in order to allow for a mapping
and evaluation of the present land occupation,
which will then be compared with the picture
obtained from the 1958 or 1960 survey. This
will permit the assessment of the importance
and speed of land occupation, a very necessary
- 57 -
piece of information if plans are to be made for
the future. For the Shire valley, a more de-
tailed mapping is requested for the reclamation
and irrigation work and a survey on a 1:12,500
is contemplated which will, at the same time,
be useful for the land occupation assessment.
It is improbable that, due to the urgency ofwork, the D.O.S. will be in a position toundertake the work, mapping and mosaicsincluded, and therefore it is envisaged to have
the survey done by a contractor.
- The extreme southern part, beyond Chiromo upto the border, has not got a land capability
map as yet. Contour maps 1:50,000 are
available, air cover is sufficient, and what
remains to be done is the ground survey andsubsequent mapping. It is the intention ofthe D.O.S. to deal with this, and the
Government will ask for its speeding upbecause of the necessity to have these documentsfor the integrated planning of the lower Shire,which in fact comprises this area too. TheD.O.S. will be asked to provide the maps and.legends as well.
- The land capability map for the whole southernarea excluding the land mentioned above (southof Chiromo) is ready for printing. The D.O.S.will be asked to give it high priority.
1 0 t9. Population, Nutrition, Health
Nearly 50 per cent of the total population of Malawiis concentrated in the Southern Region, in a territorywhich represents a third of Malawits total area. Theproject area covers more than half of the Southern Regionand includes the most populated districts of the country,with a total population of more than one million people.Nearly a third of Malawirs population is directly affected.by the project.
The distribution of this population, by districts,is as follows:
Districts Population Area (sq.m.)
Port Herald 99, 400 760Chikwawa 138, 900 1,743Cholo 269, 000 674Blantyre (urban) 58,000 81Blantyre (rural) 179,500 1,544Chiradzulu (part) 32,200 96Zomba (rural) 37,000 238Kasupe (part) 44,000 431Ncheu (part) 54,000 521Unpopulated reserves 655Mlanje (part) 218, 300 471
Total for the project area 1,230,700 7,214
The most important urban centre of the country liesin the project area. The second one, Zomba, is situatedjust outside but most of Zomba district itself is withinthe project area. And it is here that the majority ofthe Zomba. workers live. The whole urban population (about100,000 people) only represents 8 per cent of the populationof the area. This population is mainly agricultural.
Maize is its staple food crop complemented by sorghum,millet, beans and cassava.
Meat, because of high prices, has only a small con-sumption. Uith regard to the caloriesintake, it is only
in time of famine caused by failure of crops, as in 1949,
that signs of debility are observed.
However, young children are thought to be underweight
due to the absence of any tradition for feeding infants and
children properly. Cases of pellagra, the commonest signof dietary deficiency observed in the maize eating population,
are to be seen in every hospital.
The working potential of the population in the valley
is low to very low not only because of the climate character-
ised by its extremely high temperature even during the wet
season, but also and probably principally, because of the
health status.
Bilharzia seems to affect 8% of the population, malaria
is extremely common as one might expect from marshland
country and the presence of the debilitating hookworm
(ankylostoma) is not improving the situation. To this is
to be added the unbalanced diet typical of the countries
where only a short growing season exists. At the beginning
of the rainy season when the long dry season has ended and
the crops are not yet ripe, there is a food shortage at
times which again is not improving the energy of the
population.
The reclamation of the marshland and better utilisation
of the terraces where two crops a year will be reaped, will
help enormously to improve the health situation. The health
department feels confident that it can deal with the
situation; intensive campaigns may well be considered in
the future once the development plan is implemented.
Under prevailing health conditions, the residual life
expectation of a 10 year old Malawian averages about 43years and that of a 20 year old about 35 years.
- 6o -
10. Agriculture
On agriculture, forestry, cattle husbandry, score-sof useful and accurate data are available. There is an
abundance of basic information at hand for the coming team,almost sufficient for formal planning. The complementary
work is intended for working out in more detail every prop-
osal brourht forward. Not only is informatioi available in
the research stations but a very large part will be obtained
from the departments.
The southern part, as far as research goes, is covered
by Makanga station, which is located in an area well represent-
ative of the surroundings. Other stations, principally
Chitedze, provide also useful data.
Extension work, soil conservation measures, farm and
estate planning are very advanced for Africa.
As far as agriculture is concerned the project will
remain within the limits of the "Lower Shire Valley7'. By
valley is, of course, understood the claimable marsh and
the adjoining terraces which in fact occupy a much greater
surface than the marshes and have thus a greater potential.
The marsh after reclamation would provide 107,000 acres from
the Elephant Marsh to which some 25,000 acres could be added
from the Ndindi Marsh, provided this is ever contenplated.
The land on the terraces, which is classified in class
3, (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Manual) represents nearly
500,000 acres of which a good deal, generally the best, is
already being farmed. These figures emphasize the need to
integrate both areas in the Development Plan. The area
south of 160 west from Cholo escarpment represents 2,800
square miles.
Population pressure resulting in an increasing land
occupation is noticeable. Population density shows per
district abnormally high figures for this country. Although
not alarming, the situation is to be dealt with now but one
point needs to be made clear. 7hilst the justification of
the project is being considered, the justification for
investing huge amounts of capital can lnly be supported
if a proper, better, economical and efficient use of the
land benefitting ofthisinvestment in the form of reclamation
or irrigation is guaranteed. In other words, the Government
is aware of the fact that it would be difficult to expect
to obtain the necessary amount of capital from a financing
body for a proposed development plan if it is understood
that the local population will have a once-for-all grabbing
of the land made available and proceed undisturbed on both
reclaimed and irrigated land with their traditional wasteful
and irrational cultivation. The Government will make sure
that it is in a position to assert its rights on the land and
has a proper, well-defined, codified land tenure system.
Irrigation in big areas is out of the question without
consolidated smallholdings, which are also based on well
established rights on land. To draft a proper land tenure
system and have it adopted is one of the main duties of the
team.
Moreover numerous experiments have pointed out throughout
the country and particularly in the concerned area that an
increase of production representing 3 to 5 times the average
production obtained in the traditional farms can be achieved
when the farmer follows the recommended practices. It is
obvious that only doubling the present production in the
presently farmed area would represent much more than the
increase in production for the region resulting from the
establishment of traditional agriculture in the reclaimed
marsh.
Considering that improvement in production through
local means is easily feasible and that land shortage is
not yet acute, it is evident that all efforts have to be
devoted to improvement, If there are sufficient reasons
to think that such improvement will be achieved, then
investment on more productive schemes like reclamation and
irrigation are worthwhile.
a) FoodcrEps
Agriculture is still at subsistence level for the
- 62 -
majority of the population, maize being the staple food,although in the very southern part south of Chiromo, milletand sorghum are more cultivated. Cassava is growing inimportance as it has the advantage of providing a greatamount of 'filling food during the whole year. This starchyfood needs to be complemented by protein-rich aliments such
as groundnuts and pulses. In general it is feared that thefacility by which great quantities of food of little alimen-tary value are gained will appeal too much to the populationwhich has no knowledge of balanced diet and will abandonmany other crops in order to devote themselves more and moreto cassava cultivation.
Groundnuts are planted where soil physical conditionspermit; bananas of the sweet type are present everywhere andconstitute in fact often a cash crop. Pulses are plant-edbut certainly deserve more attention and propaganda.
The average surface of farm land cultivated for sub-sistence per family is about 2.5 acres, but is higher whencash crops are planted. Agricultural methods are stillprimitive. It appears, on the other hand, that often asystematical opposite position towards advocated methodshas been taken as a reaction to regulations in force duringthe former regime. This leads of course to practices entirelyagainst the people's own interests and is illustrated byencroachment on forest reserves and afforested plotsalthough free land is available nearby, abandonment ofridging resulting in no tillage of the soil except for the.little hole where the seed is placed, insufficient weeding,use of non-improved seeds, etc.
Records in the experimental stations and those obtainedfrom trial plots outside the stations show that withoutfertilizers but with the use of better seeds, normal prac-tices like ridging and so on, the production is two to
three times that obtained in the average farm. The highpotential of those soils already referred to is evidencedby the fact that some plots carry maize since 20 yearswithout rotation. Production is still of the order of 4
- 63 -
to 500 lbs/acre. Exhaustion trials show productions ofmore than 1500. lb/acre of maize after 10 years continuouscropping without rotation. on the Research Station.
Groundnuts are planted as a food and a cash crop. TheMalawi nut fetches very good prices because of its size. Itis specially appreciated for confectionery. Growing areasin the south are the extreme south and the Cholo-Mlanjearea.
b) Cash Crops
The main cash crops in the southern area are:tea, cotton, tung (Aleurites sp.), tobacco, groundnuts andsome bananas and maize when there is an excess of thosecommodities on the farms.
Tung and tea are estate cultivated and do not concernthe Valley being all located on the higher land.
Cotton is the main cash crop grown by the farmers andsome 90,000 acres are devoted to its cultivation, occupyingroughly 50,000 farmers in the southern province, mainly inthe lowland.
The lint is of medium length, slightly above 1 inch,maximum 1 1/16 inches. Handpicking provides clean cottonwhich always fetches higher prices than the machine picked.The usual problem with cotton, the control of pests, is veryacute here and is in the lower part rendered even moredifficult because-of the proximity of the PortugueseMozambique where cotton is.grown too but where sanitarycontrol is not given enough attention. Continuous re-invasion of pests, of which the bollworm is the principal,make cultivation difficult and almost impossible in the dryseason under irrigation. The average production obtainedper acre in seed cotton is 4 to 500 lb. The present varietyis apparently fairly well adapted to the local environmentbut work on breeding and pest control rotation and agri-cultural practices is still asked for. It is also obviousthat the work done at the station in Makanga on a smallscale is not approportioned to the importance of the crop
- 64 -and that much more demonstration plots, closely followedup, are required inside the country.
It must be mentioned also that a potentially good areafor cotton lies between the Kirk range and Lisongwe riverin small stretches in the middle Shire area, and in the Rivi-rivi plains. More experimentation and demonstration is
needed there too.
Tobacco The tobacco particularly suitable for thesouthern area and already cultivated there is the fire-curedtype (also called dark.smoke-cured). Experiments with thecrop are mainly conducted in Chitedze in the Central Regionwhere conditions are somewhat different from those prevailingin the lower area. (Chitedze is at an altitude of 3,700 feet)
The market for this quality is still open, the developmentof a cigarette factory for other types of cigarettes thanthose manufactured from blond tobacco would assure a goodlocal market besides export possibilities. The curing ofthis tobacco is the easiest and very suitable for small-holders. It is recognized that much improvement is necessarybut that good planting practices,-healthy nurseries and goodcuring would enable the farmer to land 4 to 600 lb per acreon the auction floor. The average acreage devoted to thiscrop by a tobacco grower is three-quarters of an acre andabout 8,000 people are interested in this crop.
There is a very interesting market for Turkish tobaccowhich could be grown in the more sandv and less rich soilsat the end of the terraces, away from the river. Investigationis needed here too.
Bananas and groundnuts have been dealt with brieflyunder food crops.
Cocoa: Climatic conditions of the south should normallyexclude any possibilities of growing cocoa in that area ifthere was not an important factor intervening to alter themacroclimate and createa particular microclimate in thecacao grove. In cocoa growing the air humidity is a factorof much higher importance than soil, water or shade. At
- 65
the research station at Makanga a half acre plot is under
almost continuous furrow irrigation during the dry season
resulting in a relative air humidity which, although not
recorded, is obviously above 80. In fact even during the
driest months of the year the humidity in the open field
outside the cacao grove never drops under 61 and is generally
well above 70 and often above 80. This last figure is ideal
for cocoa providing it lasts the whole year round and there
is no doubt that in th-e cocoa plot this is obtained. The
point is to see now whether the drainage of the marsh will
not affect the general hygrometric degree and if by irrigation
this can be kept high enough. Experiments with various
methods of watering, sprinkling with very fine nozzles for
instance, are to be carried out because the crop has a good
potential.
Rice: This crop has been placed under cash crops because
until now it has mainly been grown for sales purposes.
There exists of course a local consumption by the farmer
himself and this will probably increase.
The rice grown, of which one variety has proved to be
well adapted and accepted, is a swamp rice and not exactly
a typical inundated rice. More is to be done on this crop
especially in the field of irrigated paddy but also in the
field of dry upland rice.
Sugar cane: A.lthough presently this is grown, or atleast intended to be grown, on estates there is the very
interesting possibility of making it a smallholder cash
crop. A very great proportion of the terrace soils, not
to speak of the marsh soils when they will be reclaimed,is very suitable for cane growing.
Preliminary work has been started near Nchalo on the
establishment of a sugar estate with the necessary mill.
Production is expected to be 5 tons of sugar per acre. 6,000
acres areplanned to be planted so that the mill could easily
produce 25,000 tons a year. There lies a good opportunity
to have in the vicinity of the estate canegrowing farmers who
- 66 -will provide perhaps the bulk of the crop, the estate keepingits own plantations as a basic source of cane supplyindependent of any fluctuations in the attitude of thesmallholders.
The investigation and multiplication work is at presentcarried out at the Makanga station where it occupies thegreatest part of the experimental area.' 'A thorough studyof how cane growing can be incorporated in the smallholdersplots on irrigated land an by which irrigation means, inreclaimed areas or in the terrace zone, is indispensable.A settlment scheme for cane farmers is dealt with underSection D.II.
Robusta coffee: In countries where arabica coffee isplanted the cultivation of robusta is generally not popular.In Malawi only arabica has been grown but does not appear tohave met with much success. In general the altitude whereit is grown and where soils are suitable is marginal.Robusta coffee on the other hand is a lowland crop whichdeserves much attention in the more acid parts of the lowerriver (pH 5 to 6.5). Robusta is also much less plagued bypests than arabica. Because of the fact that for many yearsto come production will be insignificant in regard to worldproduction, there will be no limiting export quotas forMalawi.
Robusta is rather easy to grow and to keep. If notplanted in plots it can be grown along the limits of thefarm and produce 3 to 5 lb. of merchant coffee per tree, ifproperly managed, without fertilizers.
c) ResearchStations andTrialPlots
Makanga in the south, near Chiromo, is very well locatedand representative of the local climatic and soil conditions.The scope of research and experimental work is great andinformation is sufficient for preliminary agriculturalplanning. It is at present understaffed and more work shouldbe undertaken in regard to the proposed development of the
extreme southern area. Chikwawa provides data on pest
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control on cotton.
With irrigation and reclamation leading to proper land
utilisation and agricultural practices, continuous analysisof the soil, water, fertilizer responses, etc. will become
indispensable. It is thus contamplated to equip this stationwith a soil laboratory able to deal with both chemical andphysical analysis. Foliar analyses are necessary too.
These can at present be performed at Chitedze Research
station which in. fact, providing credit is at hand, coulddeal with some 2,000 soil samples a year too. A polarograph
specialist to demonstrate the correct use of the MervynHarwell 3quare Wave Polarograph is necessary for a shortperiod.
No station attains high efficiency in practice if it
is not represented throughout the country by sub-stations
and local trial plots. 7hat seems to be good in one placeis not necessarily the best in another and small local
variations may have important effects.
About 4 or 5 sub-stations will have to be opened in
the south valley, one being foreseen inside the reclaimed
marsh. The staffing does not ask for qualified agronomists.
From these sub-stations the local trials will be conducted.
One of the interesting features in Makanga is theexistence of the Farm Institute which presently does not seem
to retain all the attention it needs. The land has been
carefully prepared for irrigation and seems to be particularly
suitable for experiments and, even more, for practical training
and danonstration for the benefit of those people who will
have to do extension work in this particular project area
and for farmers too. Next to it lies a former estate which
has been taken over by the Government. This land is 2,000acres in size on which the Young Pioneer movement intends
to establish an agricultural school.
Agriculture in this area is somewhat different to the
agriculture in the remaining part of th- country so that
only a small number of students will really benefit from what
- 68 -
is taught in Makanga if later on they take up jobs or
farming in. other areas.
Therefore it is suggested to divert a part of the ,00
acres previously intended for the Young Pioneers, and add :2
to the Farm Institute where more land is needed for irrii-
and unirrigated farning demonstration and training. It is
quite certain that the interesting Youth movement will beneL
from the practical work carried out at the Institute -nd
there remains in the future the possibility of amalgamatir
both the Institute and the Young Pioneers.
d) Cattle
Cattle exist on European owned estates or are owned 6-
local farmers. The cattle population is in the vicinity 2f
65,000 head. No pasture or cattle husbandry is followed
the farmers. An important point is that the cattle are ifn
the hands of only 3" of the population in the valley.
Grazing takes place in theory on the terraces away
from the river during the rainy season and along the marshe>
during the dry season. In fact many cattle remain the dIi>
year around and: along the marshes where they graze in thce
dembos.
Trypanosomia has been the main obstacle to multiplica-l
of the herds til 1955 after which date preventive inoculitir.
has chansed the situation. An increase of 80 of the c:t:-l
populatton has been recorded since 1959. Tick-borne dise5,
appear to be giving concern and dipping tanks at a rate of
1 per 1,000 head are already in operation. More are fore>;
The physical condition of these cattle which are not
improved is poor, especially during the dry season in plac<
where no dhabos are available. Two cattle estates existed,
but have disappeared, in the Lower River, but many more
to be found in the higher land east of the Cholo escarpmetr:
and extending west and northwards.
e) .Forestry
it has for many years been the policy of the Depart-ml >
of Forestry-in Malawi to endeavour to secure the protecti, i.
of the headwaters in all the more important rivers in the
country through the constitution of 3tate Forest Reserves
covering as large an area of these headwaters as practicalib
particularly where these are situated on mountain ranges.
Such Forest RTserves, -rhose primary purpose is water comtr
are maintained under natural vegetation and protected ap.iio
harmful .influ~euccs 3umch. as.- uncontroll ed cnutting and burninr
of the v.eaetation, 'culti.atLOnof the-soil, etc..In cervae.
case-s rhee-soii and clLiatic conditions -are suitable, en>where the reographicaI s tuation is such as to xender it
economic proposition, parts of the Forest Reserves have
intensively developed under iast groecing exotic planta-io-
Lor the roduction of industrial timber and .other forms of
forest produce. The Fore-st Reserves therefore in many o ci
serve a dual role of protection of water catchments end
production of forat eroduce.
In a thickly opulated are- such as the Southern Reja
of Malawi wher: the --ressure . tn population on any re
of unoccupied l'nd s becomin- increasingly felt, the vi Eis eometimea ten t r, n-un, canno- afford to loear
ar ge are o 1-ndl sol1'- r th rocection of water
c, - enr CI hf vn i3- .emens virtua7.ly unprODcu
of the ecsertiels of li e-, o Ler tan water, It shouLd
therefore be clearli uder.tioc that, apart from those For-0 ceervee which hare beei de-vlopd for timber productLon
under plcntations, tho ireat mejority of the other esemP
are stocked ewith lndigenrus forest or woodland -hIch is
potentially productive of many of thc products essential
to the life of -he populotior such P- poles -nd otherboildinh mn ? risls, funiture timber, fuel, medicinal plmet
etc. The fact tha thr produce of many of these Reservee a
rot heinl ex;]oitcd ona scale at the present time is mi
due to the fact th-t laroc sections of the po)ulation can
still ottain their r euirements free of charpe from the
rea-xiining areas of unfeserted foreet on African Trust Lwnd
in the vicinity of their Iiomrec. IT the cu.rse oC time,howvrner, consequent on repid r-p pDr-Cn increase, it mey
- 70 -
be envisaged that in many areas, the State Forest Reserv<;
will become the only permanent source of forest produce,
and their productive funtion will then rank equal in
importance to their protective function.
In many: cases, pressure of population resulting in
political pres-sure h-s prevented the reservation of con-
siderable areas of watershed and catchment which should
ideally be protect-ed, and in general,. the degree of reser-
vation of protection forest which has been achieved may
regarded as minimal.
f) Eisheries
This has not been developed in the south. The fieheri
department is confident that it will be tble to deal wit> in
problem arising :should fisheries develop in the area.
g) Lnd Tenure
Presently this is not well defined and the existing
rir-hts not well e,9tqblished for the various categories of
tenants. Land is inherited, .Or more correctly the uSufruct
right is inherited, by the daughters from their mother
(Matrilineal inh-eritance) but the. tribal head retains ri'hts
in charmns and distribution of land or openin up new plt.
Neither the headman nor the woman possess rights -to sell,
which is the final proof of onership. The absence of proxer
delimitation of rights is emphasized for instance by the
encroachment of farms on forest reserved land because the.
mere declaration of reserve land does not represent a titAL
of ownership for the G >vernment. The importance of ln('
tenure in the frame of the development of the Lower Shire i
extremely greet and miht well, if not properly dealt
jeopardize any chance of financing a development progren.
The marsh is not reclaimed yet and already many peo>lc'
are aware of the fact that ti:e closing of the Liwonde
in the course of the coming year (1965) will provoke the
recession of a good part of the water in the marsh freeinn,
by doing so, an important acreage of cultivable land, and
are placing claims on plots which 7rere cultivated during
- 71 -
the low 7ater period of Lake Nyasa which ended around 19i6.
It is estimated that 40,000 acres were at that time cultivated
in the present marsh, and some authors speak of 60,000
This represents half of the reclaimable area and it is doubDt-
less true that the descendants of the former farmer2 of th
marshes have multiplied so much that it can be foreseen thet
almost all of the 107,000 acres will be grabbed and occupi,-
before the terrain is completely dry. The attitude of the
Government confronted with such a situation must be properl-
foreseen. On the other hand if the possible solutions Sre
properly studied and presented in such a way that the peopl>
know that they will benefit from this reclamation even if
they have to wait a while, then there is some good hope uf
seeing good use being made of the area.
The inheritance system of occupancy, as quoted above,
has led in the terrace area to intense and unlimited frag 9 t
ation of the holdings. Great expectations are held for the
development of this pert of the country by irrigation, end
of course by better agricultural practices, but it is alko
clear that irrigation on such an area is impossible with -1-1
those frqgmented farms. A. reconsolidation will be idi;, n
before laying out the irrication patterns especially thooe of
the secondary and tertiary water channels. The solution of
this problem cannot be elaboreted outside a well defined lenx
tenure legislation.
- 72 -
11. Industry1 Power, Communications and Trade
Nearly 75 per cent of the factories of YMalawi are
located in the 3outhern Region. Nearly all are situateoin the project area around Blantyre-Limbe. The region
provides 75 per cent of all salaried jobs in the country rn:
73 per cent of all the taxes (excluding import duties).Sixty seven per cent of the-country's gross domestic proucti
comes from the activities (both agricultural and industri-h)
which take place in this region.
A second area suitable to the development of rural
industry is the Chikwawa-Cholo-Mlanje area, a region of
tobacco production and of skilled handicraft. The activiti::
which could be developed in this area are: weaving, knittinj
making of mats and baskets, bee-ke-eping, cheroot and ciger
making, fibre extraction and rope making, jaggery making, oilI
extraction, wood carving. The most suitable locations are
to be. selected in this view.
The whole of the project area is convenient for the
establishment of industrial activities based on agricultur-A
production, due to the existence in this area, of the
principal condition of a successful industrial development:
- important density of population, which represents
prospective markets;
- local availability of skilled manpower;
- transport facilities for raw materials, people
and commodities;
suitable natural conditions (land, climate, water et,2.
The development of the cash crops production ill furm:<:
on the spot, an abundant raw material for decentralised, srindustries. A thorough survey must decide about their
feasibility and the most suitable sites.
Electric power for industry is not a problem in the
region at present. The Blantyre-Limbe, Cholo-Mlanje and
Zomba areas are linked into an integrated electric power
network, with an important diesel plant in Limbe and r: smlsi2.
-73-
thermal and a small hydro-electric plant in Zomba. Th
construction of the Nkula Falls hydro-electric scheme on
the Shire river will produce to the whole area a power
capacity to support for several years every development
scheme (16 Megawatts). More details on this hydro-power
plant have been given in Section D.I.6. Naturally, if r
larger industrial development comes into the foreground,
considerably more power will be needed, since the availbl-e
capacity, including the Nkula plant, will not be able to
cover industrial power requirements. Therefore, independ-nt
from the low demand for electric energy in the near futur;
it is desirable to work out the projects of hydro-power
stations, at least on a general scale, within the Shire
Valley Development rroject.
The communication network of railways and main roads i22
also better developed in the south. But considerable effort
must be made to improve and to complete the network of
secondary roads, particularly deficient in the middle Shiro
Valley (western part of Blantyre and Kasupe districts).
The ;lawi railway, extending about 290 miles from
Salima to the Portuguese border runs throughout the leng:th
of the project area, carrying the major part of the exported
or imported commodities with a through rail connection in
Mozambique in the direction of the Portuguese port of Beiri,
225 miles further on.
The main roads in the project area are the followin::
Approx. mileage inproject area
Blantyre - Balaka (via Matope) 50
Limbe - Monkey Bay 160
Limbe - Mlanje (via Fundi's Cross) 50
Limbe - Port Herald (via Cholo) 100
Blantyre - Chiromo (via Chikwawa) 90
Blantyre - Mwanza 60
Cholo - Mlanje 20
Mlanje - Zomba (via Palombe) 70
Secondary roads 1,000
- 74 -
The main development projects in the field of trans-
portations are, as far as the project area is concerned:
Railway:
- the construction of an adequate bridge across the
Shire River at 1ipimbe;
- the connection of the -a1awi Railway with the raiL:?
in Portuguese East Africa (to Novo Freixo and UacJ ,
which would considerably facilitate transport to thi
north.
Roads improvement, modernisation or re-aligning of
the sections:
- Chikwawa-Blantyre (to facilitate the exploitation of
the sugar scheme under implementation in the Shire
Valley)
-. Blantyre-Port Herald (with a possible re-routing fio
Chileka to Awanza) which is the main route to Salie
in Rhodesia;
- Blantyre-Zomba (new alignment)
The marketing of African crops is carried out by the
Farmers 1arketingr Board. It is a statutory body responsil !
for the-purchase and marketing of all tobacco, cotton,
groundnuts, and much of the maize surplus sold by the Afrf-c:
farmers. Other crops, such as beans, have been added rcentL'
The Board has established 74 markets throughout the
country, the most important being in the Southern Region.
The crops purchased on these markets - during only four
months in the year - are transported and stocked in Limbe
(which lies in the project area), where they are sold eit
on the local market or overseas.
The co-operative societies play an important part in
sectors which are outside the scope of the Marketing Bord
(dairy produce, rice, coffee, ghee) or as consumer societi2.3
The position of the co-operatives in the sphere of marketini
requires to be strengthened.
Proposals are under consideration to establish a lin>
between the co-operatives and the FarmnroIIrlotinu Du:,
in order tu ortrust the primary nrketing of cash crops to
the co-operatives, under the suip(-rvision of the Eoard, thc
latter becominAg a sort of financing organisation of an
Agricultural Developient Corporation, to be created.
:Aeat marketing has been taken over by the Cold Sto-,-,ir';
Com-nission, who have opened an abattoir in Hlantyre. This
gives an incentive - which has now been felt - for the
production of improved cattle.
Two aspects of marketing are to be considered in t
project area:
a) the organisation required to collect, pool qnd
market the individual surpluses of the African
farmers;
b) the creation of incentives able to produce surplus
above subsistence. The organisation of the farmrs
into producers co-operatives could be such an
incentive.
- 76 -
12. Education and Training Related to the Project
Only post-graduate training and diploma level training,
in both cases abroad, are dealt with here.
The training of Malawian students in foreign countries
is the responsibility of the >inistry of Education. At
present all the students hold bursaries. This means that lit
is the offer from the friendly country which determines th:
sort of training or education that can be extended. The
choice is thus limited.
7hereas the training abroad at post-graduate level i:
not questioned the training at diploma level (Technical
Officer) outside the country does not seem to meet with
unanimous approval. The present situation is as follows:
- Agriculture:
University level: (Cambridge, Basutoland, Ethiopia,ralestine, Uganda, Wales, Ghani,Nevada, Illinois, Canada, Cairo)
to graduate in 1964 - 5 students
1965 - 4 "1966 - 51967 - 51968 - 7 A
Diploma level (Technical) (Kenya, U. S.A. , U. K,Denmark)
1964 - 111965 - 41966 - 3
- Forestry
5 students are on training at University level in In:i
and U.S.S. The first is expected to graduate in 10 6,
- Cattle
4 students are being educated in Veterinary Science in
U.S.A., New Zealand, and Pakistan.
2 others are undergoing technical training in Animal
Husbandry (Kenya).
- 77 -
- Engineering.
There are presently 16 students abroad specielisin L:
follows:-
10 in Civil Engineering
6 in liechanical Engineering
The first ones will graduate in 1965.
-78 -
13. Existing Reports and Project Proposals
The above description of the present situation in the
project area gives a general picture of data' collection,
surverS and research done in various fields covering the
objectives of the project to be established.
In addition to that, stress should be laid upon the
favourable fact that not merely basic type observation an(
research., work has been carried out in M1alawi, but also intc-
grated surveys and even detailed reports on multi-purpose
development schemes have been prepared, especially for the
Shire River. Appendix No. II contains the list of all
available publications, maps and reports, including desins
and other project documents, which marrbe of importance
concerninp the development of the selected project arer.
Two comprehensive documents can be brought into the
limelight and be classified as valuable approaches for a
Aulti-purpose development scheme:
- The Shire Valley Project, by 3ir 'illiam.Halcrow
& Parthers, London, 1954 (in the following briefly
referred to as the Halcrow Report)
Report on a Field 3urvey and an Exploratory Invest-
igation in connection with the Reclamation and
Utilisation of the Elephant Marsh, by the NetherlAn
Engineering Consultants, The Hague, 1960-61 (in th
following briefly referred to as the Nedeco Rep> (.
It has to be acknowledge that, because of their thoro
ness and Iiulti-purpose aspect, both of the above projects
might be regarded as important contributions toimmediate
implementation, especially the Halcrow project. However,
neither of them can be accepted as a final development plrn
for the river basin in question, for the following reason:
- Neither of these projects covers, according to up-t-
date vim7s on propor rogional.plnning, all the ir
which aro considered to be involvod in :n integret 7
projoct. The Holcrow Report is actually n- compr-
hensive multi-purpose scheme, but in accordance wit>
- 79 -
its terms of reference, it did not embrace the . 11e
scope of the problems to be involved in the economic
development of the selected project area, (agri-
culture is partly dealt with only; and problems
connected with probable agricultural development,
such as land tenure, settlement development, etc.
are not included; and the economical appraisal i2
deficient, too. The Nedeco project is also limit d
in its aspects, since it hes been confined to the
water control and irrigation questions only.
- The selected project area is much larger than the
dealt with in the Reports in question. In some
respects (hydrology and hydraulics) the Halcrow
Report extends beyond the project area, and giveC
an excellent hydrological analysis for Lake Uys;a
and the Upper River. On the basis of the recommand-
ations of the Halcrow Report, the regulating barl-if
is at present under construction and this has
indicated the upper limit of the project area. Th
Halcrow project, however, is concerned with th n
Shire Valley proper and deals in detail with tho
upland areas only as far as the hydrology and y r-
power development of the tributaries is concern-l,
(agriculture, forestry, cattle, land use, etc.
were not included in the Report). The Nedeco
project provides merely for the improvement of ths
Elephant I'arsh.
In recent years it has been proved that much miore
emphasis should be given to human, social and
economical factors (such as population distribtio.
man-power and employment, health control, traininf,
legislation on land tenure, water use, and present
land use) in-development plans than it had b een
previously anticipated. And this applies, in
particular, to projects where agriculture has a
prominent role, as is the case in the Shire basin
development. The Halcrow project was based on
- 80 -
surveys that had been carried out more than ten
years ago, and experiences gained in recent ye ar,
have lead to significant changes in the methodciogy
of development planning. The independence of the
country has also changed many factors that need a
thorough supervision of outlines of country-wid
planning.
- Finally, attention should be called to the fact tI
significantly different hydraulic engineering ly
outs heve been recommended in the Halcrow and ir Ql
Nedeco projects as regards the reclamation and
irrigation of one of the most important portion of
the project area, i.e. of the Elephant Marsh, and
that fact can be very probably attributed to the
specific practices of the consulting firms in queAsti
It should again be strongly enphasized that an enorminou
quantity of preparatory work has been done which ensures 7
reliable b-sis for further work. In spite of the above rcd rl
it can be stated that the two discussed projects (and es-
pecially the Halcrow Report) give an excellent contribution
to tho completion of the final development project.
On the basis of the above considerations, the follor1i
two resolutions can be made:
- The surveys, reports and projects carried out up i
the present cannot be regarded as development 9lin
for the project area, and cannot simply fit toqe 2i
Partly on the basis of the material available, pa
by means of further planning an integrated devel7
ment project for the whole selected area has to be
established.
- The material available comprises a considerable
amount of data, information, and project proposals.
Therefore, in spite of the great number of proble-rL
involved and the greatness of the area covered, aheduration of the project can be considerably abbrsd P
- in comparison with somae other similar projects -
- 81 -
and concentrated into two rears.
Because of the existence of a comprehensive
collection of data, surveys and project proposele
it is believed necessary that three important
members of the Team (a senior hydraulic engineer,
a senior agronomist - one of them may even be
appointed as ?roject Manager - and a land tenure
expert) should arrive at least four months earlier
than the date of comnencement of the project period
for studying in detail the whole documentation,
since otherwise neither proper working principles
for the Team can be given, nor can duplication of
studies and designing be avoided. it is requested
that these experts could conmence their work on s
basis of an imiediate pre-financement by the SpeciL
Fund. (see Eection D.V.).
- 82 -
i4. Supplementary Dats and 3urveys Requird for the Prepar.p Li. iiof the Froject
From the above description it becomes obvious that,
spite of the fact th 't in some fields the preparatory 'Vork
has already reached the level that permits the commencement
of plbnning. a general development scheme, there can al20 T
detected some gaps in data collection and preparator-
surveys. To avoid delay in planning, these missing data
should be obtained as soon as possible and the necessary
field work urgently commenced. On the recommendations of
the Preparatory Special Fund Team the Government has alrcmy
put in hand the following:
- Establishment of new hydrologicdl gauging statiorue
in the project area for water stage observation
and discharce measurementa.
- Observations and measurements in existing hvdrolorgic-
stations with special attention to minimun and
maximum stages and discharges.
- Establishment of new meteorological stations in tl
project area, instrumented specially for agriculnuY.1
and hvdrologicAl purposes.
introduction of bed-load measurement in the Lower
Shire, in the Ruo and, if needed, in other tribUt-rime
- Preparation of a proposal on a ground-water obser-
vation network in the alluvial (and colluvial) arenz
on the basis of existing geological data and
experience gained by drilling. Installation of
groundwater observation wells and commencement of
groundwater survey.
- Speeding up elaboration and evaluation of hydrolof.'-
data to obtain all existing information in the for-
needed directly for engineering designing work
(averages, durations, frequencies, graphs, etc.).
- Collecting, and preparing all existing documents
related to the problem in question in such a form
and in such number of copies that the expertc to t
sent ahead of the Project Team could commence their
work immediately after their arrival in the coUaWi
- Collecting legislation concerning the social and
economic infrastructure of the country(land holding
and land use, social security; fiscal, financial and
commercial regulations; constitutions of organisato.. .
working in the economic field, e.g. Development
Corporation and Marketing Boards, etc.).
- Land capability map: This is ready for printing for
the Southern Region with the exception of the part-
lying south of Chiromo. Priority is to be given to
this work which is the responsibility of the Director
of Surveys. The composition of the map on the same
subject for the area south of Chiromo and termination
of the survey is also needed.
Naturally there are also surveys included in the projvc
which are not needed at the co.a..encement of the project
period, but should be carried out during the same, in order
to provide for sufficient data and maps for a possible
adjoining implementation of the project. These surveys are
dealt with in various Sections where present situation,
objectives and actions are listed,
D. LQSER AND 14IDDLE SHIRE VALLEY DEVELGii-4ENT. PRQJECT
I. Objectives and Actions
The main objective of the proposed pre-investment
project is to assist the Government in drawing up an intgr,water resources and agricultural development plan for theselected area and to determine investment funds required forthe proposed project within the framework of the overall
development plan of the area and the country as a whole. TPproject will be based on a thorough assessment of physicaland human potentialities, partly evaluated in existing
research work and project proposals, ?articular emphasiswill be given to the nucleus of the area, i.e. to the lowerstretch of the main Shire Valley and the marshlands.
Although this will be the concern of the coming tew,it already appears evident that once the implementation uf
the proposed project starts, and-possibly even before tht,a body should be created which would take complete rerpon:-ibility for the proper progress of the development progr-uileand run the construction and installati-on of all the
establishments comprised in the project. Thus a NationalShire Valley Authority is strongly suggested.
More specified explanations of the aim are dealt within the followingSections.
1. Flood Control and Land Reclamation
A fundamental condition of the development of the
project area and especially of the main valley itself if tum
efficient solution of flood control and land reclamation.
'The aggregate area of the marshlands to be reclaimee
amounts to 134,000 acres (206 sq. miles, or 527 sq.km.).
This includes the Elephant .arsh and the northern part .x
the Ndindi Marsh, Ahich lies in Malawi.
It has to be emphasized that for a reasonable solution
of the reclamation of the Ndindi Marsh, co-operation with
Mozambique Governm-ent would be advisable, since the larger
part of the ~Marsh lies in Mozarhbique.
Other low lying areas along the Shire and its t
should also be protected from floods. In this respect specirl
attention should be paid to the Ruo River, since it greatl.r
endangers the adjacent plain and especially the land surroundi
its confluence with the Shire.
The flood control and lande reclamation part o" the
project has to be elaborated in the first phase of the roj;ec
period. For this work valuable data and. layout proposals can
be found both in Halcrow Report and in Nedeco Report.
It is suggested that an expert on flood control nd I:
reclamation should be attached to the project team for 19
months.
It has been elready mentioned that almost no geolo7icl
and soil mechanical surveys have been carried out over the
alluvial and colluvial valley areas. Since, however,
good knowledge of the stratification of these sediment
deposits and about the ground-water conditions in these str
is required for the preparation of water resources develc
and agricultural schemes, provision should be made in the
project for alluvium exploratory borings and for a ground-
water observation network. Thus in the alluvial and collu
valley areas of about 1,000 square miles, an exploration h
an average density of one boring per two square miles ca b,
- 86 -
foreseen with an average depth of 50 feet. According to
preliminary estimntes this survey can be complet.ed within,
a period of one and a hllf years by two drilling teams.
For the ground-water observation network even - rouii
estimate can hardly be made since almost no information i1
available on the water content of the upper aquifers. It
seems very probable that the real densit- of the ground-
water observation network can be established later on, based
on experiences gained by the first experinents and observations.
A rough estimate of one hundred 20 feet deep observation
wells should be included in the project. Groundwater studic1
and exploration will be commenced by the Government immediat br
to provide for some basic data that should already be availrbi
for the Project Team (see Section C.II.14).
Soil mechanical analysis of the sanples taken both froe
the soil exploratory borings and ground-water observation
wells has to be carried out, say five samples - possibly
undisturbed ones,- per boring, cnd out of these one-third
should undergo soil mechanical laboratory tests.
If high lying aquifers of significant water conve--nc2
are found,ground-water test pumnpinps ill be advisable. In
this pre-investment project ten pumping tests, with the
necessary special equipment is foreseen with a pumping duratien
of'two-weeks each. It is requested that Special Fund should
provide for an expert on soil mechanics and earth structures
for 24 months to direct these works, and for the min boring
equipment for the two teams, while the Government will provi(
for the personnel of the teams and for the temporary borehole
casings, and will undertake the soil mechanical tests in the
laboratory of the Hydraulics Department with its own.stak'.
The installation of the ground-water observation wells
will be the task of the Government, and also the same will.
take care of the pumping tests. It is desirable that a
ground-water expert should beavailable for l months.
- 87 -
2. River Improvement and Navigation
The Special Fund Teani should study the possibilitie
of improvement of the stretch of the Shire River from Liwonde
to liatope, as well as to the entire Lower Shire. A consid
deterioration of the river channel can be observed and over
some stretches recent changes in the meanders are seen. in
the swamp areas the river channel is seriously obstructed
by reed growth and the water spreads out in numerous channele
into the swamps. It seems to be indispensable to make
recomnendations and project proposals on the stabilisatior
of some stretches of the river, and this work has to be don-e
in close co-operation with flood control and reclamation 'wnd
irrigation schemes. No permanent expert on river improvo.en:nt
is needed, since it is believed that the flood control expert
will fulfil the task of preparing the river regulation
programme with the assistance of a tamporary consultant on
river improvement.
Damaging experiences have called the attention to the
very disadvantageous formation of the Shire-Ruo confluence,
which is one of the most delicate portions of the Shire
Valley. The Halcrow Report also deals with this problem very
thoroughly. According to present scientific standpoint, the
proper solution in such a case, however, cannot be found by
theoretical investigations only, and, therefore, a scale model
experiment is highly recommended. This should-be carried out
abroad in a properly equipped university or governmental
hydraulic laboratory on a contractual basis (sub-contractor)
prior to the project period. For this a special requect has
been made (see Section V).
The consultant on river improvement; with an assignment
of 6 months in total, should participate in the proframevi or
the scale model experiment according to the following schedule:
first mission at the very beginning of the team work to
assist in outlining the main principles of river improvement
and to advise on the contract for the scale model experiment;
second mission when results of the scale model experiment are
available, to take part in the appraisal thereof.
it is requested that a hydrologist with special
qualification and experience on stream hydrology and hydraalic-
should be appointed for the first year of the project period
in order to evaluate the data collected and to calculate th-
design floods (for river improvement and flood control) and
the low water potentialities of the river (for irrigation).
Also this expert will be given the task of studying the
regulating effect of the Liwonde barrage on the Shire regime
with special regard to the establishment of a proper oper-tio3 IL
specification in order to ensure the required rate of flo;
for covering irrigation needs during the dry season (natur.llz
in accordance with the flow requirements of the hydro-power
generation).
Navigation potential should also be dealt with in the
Specipl Fund project. The navigation prograaiie has to be
elaborated on the basis of the general communication and
transportation plan for Malawi which has been carried out Ly'
the United States AID experts. The final presentation of
this plan will very probably be completed within two years
so that an efficient co-operation between the United Stat es
AID experts and the Special Fund team will fulfil the taek
of being liaison officer to the United States AID experts
and competent Governmental bodies.
It has been borne in aind that Mozembique is dealing
with the navigation development of the Zambezi and it is
understood that there are some proposals under discussion to
render possible the travel of ocean liners up to Tete. If
river regulation or canalisation of the Zambezi to such an
extent as to fulfil this requirement occurs, this develo)mcnt
may hcve two important effects upon the Shire Valley
development-
- the navigation programme on the Shire may be
affected by the future navigation possibilities
on the Zambezi;
- if the regulation of the Zambezi results in a
remarkable change of water levels along the stretch
- 89 -
where the Shire discharges into the Zambezi,
either a draw-down effect or a back-water effect
over the lower course of the Shire may occur.
Similar alterations in hydraulic conditions of tb3
streams can af Cect the outlines of the develop.unnt
scheme. Therefore negotiations with Mozambique fre
necessary as regards the future Zambezi development
plans, as soon as possible to obtain some basic
inforination for the Special Fund team.
The present position on the Shire is that shallow
draught vessels can navigate between Lake Nyasa and Matope,
though the passage at the Nkasi bar is somewhat difficult.
In the Lower River navigation is also possible for shallow
draught vessels during the period of floods.
- 90 -
3. Irrigation and Drainage
Irrigation potential in the Shire Valley has been
already thoroughly studied in the Halcrow Report and generl].
layouts for the irrigation of the entire marshlands can be
found in the same. Besides, detaild irrigation schemes hav
been worked out by Halcrow & partners for the developmi:t of
valley areas which lie above the highest flood levels. Th
Nedeco- Report comprises a fairly detailed irrigation sch&mn,
but only for the Elephant iarsh. The Nedeco project covers
some aspects in more detail than the Halcrow Repor; however,
the Halcrow Report can be taken more as a multi-purpose sc1e-J
which takes into consideration several objectives of overall
development. Though severalpartial results of the Nedeco
scheme can be of use for the Special Fund Team, however, it
is to be e.nphasized that the Nedeco project did not deal
with the River Valley as a whole.
Finally, it has to be mentioned that some of the
proposals of the Halcrow and iledeco sche es do not coincide
with each other, and even controversial aspects can be found.
Therefore, it is very important that the senior hydraulic
engineer, and the senior agronomnist of the Special Fund Team,
one of them being the project manager, should have the
possibility of making, a comparative study before the actual
team -iork will begin. The gross commanded area for irriga;ion
in the Halcrow Report, has been estinated to be about l0Q,&J
acres (in the Lower Shire Valley). In the Upper Shire Vall>-
also, large areas have been selected for lift irrigation,
totalling some 30,000 acres. The tributary valleys, in
general, do not offer possibilities for large scale irrigatini.
but a high number of small developments can be proposed.
At present is is believed that the irrication poten*tiL,
regarded from both water pbtentialities and soil conditions,
is much larger than the first estimates. It is believed tht
lifjt irrigajiAnLin the u-re may be more important in the
entire irrigation development than was previously appreci.ted
Drainage systems will also be included in the Special Fund
- 91.-
project. It is obvious that drainage systems not only
provide for irrigation developments but in some cases the
proper drainage is indispensable for efficient dry faraing
cultivation. There are sev.eral widespread sections in the
project area, the effective cultivation of which is jeoperdi,-d
by water logging and insufficient drainability of the soils.
For the irrigation and drainage development of the project
area, provision has been made for an irrigation and drpinage
expert for the entire project period (24 months).
In order to find the best location and general lay-out
of hydraulic structures, scale model experiments are wid(li
recomvended. It has been foreseen to use this method for
the general planning of the main structure to be built for
irrigation purposes.
Exploratory borings for the outlines of foundation nnd
general arrangement of major hydraulic structures (weirs,
intakes, culverts, pumping stations, etc.) are indispenale,
and funds for four sites, to be selected later (by the
Special Fund Team, have been allocated (subcontractors).
It has been contemplated that the consultant on water
power development (see the next Section) will be simultan-
eously adviser on h-draulic structures, too. Besides the
assignment for an engineering geologist consultant has been
anticipated for a period of 6 months in total.
- 92 -
4. Soil Conservation and Erosion Control
Since the project will be dealing with new aspects
of agriculture on reclaimed and irrigated land, it is
obvious that strict measures will have to be taLen in
order to avoid agricultural malpractices leading to
destruction of the farmers' capital, the soil, and to
waste of the invested money. This will not only cover
the usual well known methods of ridging, terrace bundin:
where necessary, mulching, etc, but also the use of the
water in irrigation and drainage. Improper use of
irrigation water will lead in those particular soils to
rapid salinization, a feature as bad as any, or to
wasteful leaching of the soluble fertilizers when these
are applied.
Soil conservation is in close relation with
groundwater conditions and therefore groundwater
research will contribute to the solution of this
problem, too (see Section C.III.6/a and D.I.1).
Experiments on rotation of crops appear clearly
indispensable, as they are insufficient for conditions
similar to those which will be created. The sooner
information is obtained before the programme to be
proposed is implemented, the better.
A long-range programmue on erosion control both
on the plains and in the uplands is believed indispens-
able in order to moderate surface run-off, and as a
consequence to decrease the peak discharges of the
seasonal streams, and to diminish sediment transport
in the tributaries and in the Shire as well. Measurement
of suspended load and bed load transport in the rivers
is one of the measures to check erosion conditions (see
Section C.II..6/b).
Agriculture with proper erosion control andprotection of the non farmed areas by forestry reserver>
- 93 -
or afforestation, in the catchment area, -mainly in the
Cholo Mlanje area,-is-*of -the highest importance for
effeotive water and sediment control in the Lower Shire
Valley and consequently for the functioning of the
development plan, especially on the reclaimed land. It
is realized that if this could not be obtained the
chances for a. successful implementation of the plan
would be jeopardized.
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and
the Department of Forestry and Game are well alive to
this question but at the present time no effective
Natural Resources legislation exists, by which
conservation schemes can be implemented. The Government
is attempting to carry out its conservation programme by
means of persuasion rather than by regulatory legislation.
- 94 -
5. Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries
a) Agriculture
In agriculture no basic data or information is
necessary in order to start planning except ground
water studies and land tenure.. This does not, of
course, exclude the necessity to proceed with the
usual routine experimentation on crops, rotation
etc. In fact such experimentation has to be
intensified, the emphasis being placed on the
need to carry many of them out under African
village conditions.
The main possibilities in developing the
project area as well as the country in general
lie with agriculture for many years to come.
In the particular case of the project agriculture
is much dependent of hydrology in the form of
land reclamation and irrigation which will make
it possible to switch over from a one crop a year
to a two crop a year cultivation, but this does
not exclude the necessity to improve at the same
time agri'cultural practices which, alone, can in
themselves provoke a spectacular rise in the
people's standard of living.
The water control which the development implies
is on the other hand fortunately related to the
use of the water for the production of electric
power.
It must be emphasized once again, that there
are two ways to develop the area which, when used
concurrently, will give the best results. One is
to improve present agricultural practices and by
doing so double the present output; the other is
to place at the disposal of the population new
- 95 -
1: riile soil or make more productive, land already
being farmed.
It will appear abvious that before investing
important amounts of money in a reclamation or
irrigation programme it is indispensable to
obtain an absolute guarantee that as soon as the
lant is reclaimed the' people will not move in,
Je the area they like and proceed with their
umi traditional unproductive cultivation. This
would mean that the income per capita would not,
or only very slightly be increased by the invest-
ment, Thus the scheme could be called a failure
as te criterium for development is the rise of
the ind:ividual income.
st&te cultivation necessitating 1.arge compact
areas either rTAn and/or owned by Government or
private enterprise would become almost impossible
if plots are taken all over the place. Cocoa, if
it develops, sugar, possibly coffee have to be
-rown on an estste scale. It is doubtful that
re-doval of the farmers from the plots they have
c izupied rightly or not, in order to give the
neceasary acreage to estates, especially when
priv-Ately owned, can be carried out without strong
-eaction and political disorder.
. order to assist the Government in establish-
ing the indispensabIe land tenure regulations,
one expert in this matter is necessary. As much
will depend upon the results of his findings he is
requested to come out at the same time as the
project manager. i.e. 4.months before the arrival
of the other members of the party. When studying
the matter he will carefully consider how to make
the proposed regulations acceptable to the people
without creating too much disturbance.
- 96 -
The final aim is to establish clearly, once andfor all, the respective rights of the variousgroups of individuals and the rights of theGovernment. The t 6 vernment will then be in aposition to decide on the occupation and use ofthe reclaimed land and especially on the irrigatedareas. It is naturally understood that the landtenure regulations are of necessity to be made atnational level and not only for the Shire Valley.
As it must be accepted that there existsprobably some sort of right on the presentlyinundated area dating back since before 1936 whenthe marsh was dry, and if these rights are to betaken into account, the recording of those plotsneeds to be done so that a reshuffling intoconsolidated plots could be considered. This willnecessitate an intense ground survey beforereclamation. The possibility .of consolidation ofthe fragmented farms and their re-location in sucha way that economical irrigation is possible mustbe thoroughly examined. This also calls forintense ground work and will necessitate a new setof air photographs on a 1:12,500 scale. (In factthese photos are also needed for the land surveyors-topographers.). A settlement expert is foreseen forthis work. An important aspect of the settlementofficer's activity is that of establishing andrunning of a pioneer scheme of economic size,estimated to cover roughly 1,000 acres or perhapsmore. There is a good prospect for such a schemein the area adjacent to the present proposed sugarestate at Nchalo where sugar cane could be grownon smallholdings as a cash crop, the cane beingsold to the mill.
- 97 -
In order to assess the best use to be made of
the area under consideration a land use specialist
is necessary.
The various soil groups have different character-
istics, and as the mapping of the soil units in the
marsh is to be done, the closing of the Liwonde
bund will allow some more work in this field. The
use of fertilizers must be advised upon depending
on crop and soil; this means that still more
detailed studies of the soils are needed, but
exclusively aimed at practical utilisation. A
soil scientist is necessary for this.
The water situation inside the soils or ground
water status is unknown. This is probably in
agriculture the only gap existing in the remark-
able amount of information. The knowledge of this
is indispensable for practical reasons. It is
this water which will determine salinity or
alkalinity of the soil if not properly controlled,
especially when irrigation is applied. A ground
water expert has already been included (see Section
D.I .1).
Due to the fact that there will be a soil
surveyor it will be necessary to have facilities
to analyse, chemically and physically, samples
taken by the soil specialist. The effect of
fertilizers can be well studied and followed up
by foliar analysis and this work is to be done by
the same analyst who will deal with the soils. A
soil analyst is requested. For trace element
analysis, especially on leaves, use is to be made
of the Mervyn Harwell Square Wave Polarograph
which exists at the Chitedze station. This
apparatus is rather sophisticated and to operate
it, and show how to operate it, a specialist of
the firm will have to be asked for a 3 month
period.
In the meantime it appears that Chitedze could
deal with 2,000 samples a year for chemical and
ioliar anelysis if the staff was increased. At
prcsent only a few tests are made on physical
examination and it seems more advisable to have
both th& physical analysis laboratory aynd the
Coliar aaalyois equipment moved to Makanga. For
the work in Chitedze 2,000 would allow for the
appointment of 4 Grade A Assistants (laboratory
assistant of T.A. grade) and pay for the chemicals.
- Although at first sight it would appear that it
iq more logical to proceed with the analysis
(chemical at least) at Chitedze, the fact is
that the soil analyst would have too little todo with what remains in Makanga. Delays
::,fulting from the sending cr.t of samples,
waitina for the results and losses during
transport, strongly militates for having the
,hlcIe set of analyses done in the south. It
aill co needed later on anyway.
- The value of experients and extension work
oecomes only great when the results are put
under the eyes of the people for whom they
are intended. On the other hand an experiment
carried out on one class of soils will not
necessarily produce the same results on
i'nother soil. An agronomist to carry outexperimTents and demonstration trials in sub-tations (4 to 5) to be located in the main
soil units is necessary. From thos6 sub-
7tUtions where a local agricultural technical
officer is to be stationed, numerous small
dcmionstration plots shared all over his area
could be established and followed up more
closely than can be done presently. For the
,o--ent the 30 or so trial plots laid down in
t ha instructors' gardens do not appear
Fati'sfactory and do not provide reliable data.
-he st.aff of. the Makanga station is insufficient
an irrber to cope with all the experiments
Keeoc necessnry. Much work should be done on
breei-n.maize or at least on testing introduced"Jrities, because the somewhat too high
aempeJrature for this crop necessitates the
onlectio- of a strain better adapted to local
conditions in tie lower valley. Much work israouir ed on pulses and there are gaps in the
inff-rmation on rotations, especially underirijtion and in the reclaimed marshes. This,
toether with work on other. food crops compris-
in.- bananas and plantains, of which latter
practi ally none exist, will require the
,Itentin of an iagronomist for food crops.
- otton being the main cash crop must receive
apDial attention. Presently there is a
a-oci -ist at work in Makanoa supplied by theE' C (Empire Cotton Growing Corporation) but
ae cannot possibly deal with the problems
outside the station. Therefore the Government
uill endeavour to obtain more personnel from
'teC 0-rC or provide an extra cotton specialist.
The iain problem in cotton growing being thatDo peso control which is far from being
satisfactory ir tho coautiry, it is necessary, -. ve an entomologist asa consultant for a
- 100 -
short period. This specialist will not confine
his activity to the area only, but considering
that the chances to extend cotton plantations
-re jeopardjsed by reinfestation from th-e
Portu'uese territory, he should investigate
with the neighbours what they should do in
order to control also the pest on their side.
-t is probable that sugar cane. will not require
the aid of a specialist because the estate will:iave' its own. Agreement must be reached bywhich technical advice to the small-holders
when they come to grow cane around the estate,
will be provided by the specialised staff of
the said estate.
- On the other hand there is need for advice on
tobacco growing, both Turkish and fire-cured.More experiments should be done with this crop
at the station, but as much extension work is
involved it is necessary for the Government to
foresee a specialist exclusively devoted to
this crop which, with irrigation, could well be
drown all the year round within rotation schemes.A tobacco specialist is thus necessary. The
namerous experiments in Chitedze are not
ontirely applicable for this area.
- Coffee robusta and cocoa have been dealt
with under C.II.10 but much experimentation
and trials should be made especially with
irrigation of various types. For these crops(and for citrus and pineapple) a tropicalindustrial crops specialist is necessary.
It is necessary that in Ylakanga whereirrigationpossibilities exist, investigations
on rice cultivation should be carried out.
- 101 -
There is little reason to think that, properly
managed and with the use of fertilizers, a 12
ton/acre crop could not be achieved. Once
town population takes to rice, the demand
rises very quickly. Town population is bound
to expand in Malawi as it is doing in other
countries. A rice specialist should be
provided who should also deal with "upland"
rice as this crop offers possibilities too.
The Special Fund would provide for short
visits by a consultant on the matter, but the
full time rice specialist is the Government's
concern. In the meantime the station's staff
should deal with this.
b) ?6resty
Forestry will play a role in the water economy
of the valley which cannot be overlooked.
The terraces and marshes are deeply affected
by the hydrology which in turn is influenced,
sometimes in a spectacular or dramatic way, by the
vegetal cover of the land on which the rains fall,
Grassland is only effective in protecting the soil
against erosion when the sward is dense, which
generally is not the case.
A detailed study of the catchment area in
re ard to the need for soil protection byafforestation and for regulating the flow of thetributaries is needed. Detailed maps can beproduced by using air photographs and a detailedplan of operation will be drafted. any areasof low potential at present will perhaps ,gain
importance within 25 years when an even-tualplanted forest will become exploitabie. Aforestry expert is necessary,
- 102 -
The areas coloured green on the relevant map
are State Forest Reserves covering partp of the
most important water catchments in the Southern
Region. Two Forest Reserves in the Central
Region, Mvai and Dzonze, are also shown because
their catchments drain into the Lower Shire.
Where parts of these Reserves have been developed
under plantations, this is shown by means of red
hatching.
The area coloured-iu blue comprises the
eastern scarp of the Lower Shire Valley. It is
considered that this scarp should be adequately
protected against cultivation and the destruction
of natural vegetation in order :to safeguard the
Valley against the possibility of flash floods,
and the deposition of coarse infertile detritus
on the valley floor. At present only a very small
proportion of this scarp is afforded protection byft means of the four small Forest Reserves of Kalulu
Hills, Cholomwani,,Cholo Mountain and Chegwaja.
Even these Reserves are at the present time being
heavily encroached upon by cultivators and great
diffiQuity is being experienced in maintaining
them in beiny.
The areas shown on the map by means of blue
hatching comprise land which is considered to be
marginal for development for agricultural control
purposes and which may be considered to be of some
importance in relation to control of flood water
in the lower Shire. No detailed examination of
these areas has been made, however, and it is
recom.ended that they should receive examination
by a land use team with a view to determining
their correct use in relation to the future
development of the Lower Shire Valley.
- 103 -
c) Cattle and Pastures
Little has been done in the Lower Valley on
pasture improvement and husbandry. A detailed
study of the grassland in all its aspects is
indispensable. Planning for the use of grazing
areas within the future development plan is to
be made. This should be done now and not when
implementation of the irrigation and reclamation
scheme is undertaken. The integration of cattle
in the farming system needs investigation and
cattle management practices should be-outlined.
It would perhaps be useful to remember that noimprovement of the cattle industry is possible
without pasture improvement. A pasture andcattle husbandry expert is needed.
Fisheries
Nothing, or almost nothing, has been done onthis subject in the valley. It appears that theFisheries Division feels able to cope with anyproblem which will arise from the new situation.With the Division's agreement, it would be usefulto have for a short time a freshwater fisheriesspecialist visiting the country as a consultantwhen the time comes to ask for advice. Pondsare foreseen in the settlement schemes and thiswill require careful investigations in the areabeoguse of the possible salinity of the water.
- 104 -
6. Water Power Development
The bulk of the hydro-power potential of the
project area is contained in the middle course of the
Shire River. According to an examination of the
Halcr~ow Report the advisable installed total capacity,
at four possible dam sites, is about 500,000 kilowatts.
The Halcrow Report based on detailed hydrological
calculations and topographical surveys, also gives
general plans and sections of the suggested dams and
power stations at Matope, Nachimbeya Rapids, at Nkula
Falls, at Mpatamanga Gorge and at Hamilton Falls.
The dam and power sites have been surveyed from a
geological point of view. The preliminary geological
surveys have proved that geological conditions for the
construction of dams and power houses are fairly
advantageous.
As regards power development, the Halcrow Report
seems very reliable on the one hand and up-to-date on
the other, therefore only small modifications may need
to be carried out by the project team. Besides, the
topographical and geological condition of the middle
Shire comprising, as it does, a series of narrow
gorges and rapids almost exclusively limits and
prescribes the main outlines of power development. It
is not requested, therefore, that a permanent expert on
hydro-power should be attached to the Special Fund Team
but a consultant on hydro-power development and
hydraulic structures will be needed for about an
aggregate period of 8 months. The geological problems
related to the power plants to be suggested will be
discussed with the engineering geologist mentioned
already in the previous Section.
- 105 -
7. it' Suppi, Sewage and Health
At present the majority of people in the rural
ar>ws obtain their domestic water supplies from boreholes,
n ldams and rivers. Only borehole supplies can be
-e2CSrded as being free from contamination.
Pit latrines are in general use and under present
&oritiona of settlement can be regarded as reasonably
propQsals are being included in this report for
Lh-cc oyment of domestic water supplies and sewage as
thc ie will be catered for by normal Government Agencies
aw nd Iheui the need arises within the Pr-ject Area. If
requirement in planning of water supply and
sowage improvement arises due to the progress of the
Special Fund project, the Government will provide
for The proper planning, the results of which will be
iarted into the final presentation of the Special
Fu)d 1-rojuct. Therefore no specialist for water supply
a:i se-age has been envisaged in the Special Fund
-2o-ent health conditions have been described in
'on C*.II.9. It is obvious that the Special Fund
proj3ct w'll influence the governmental programme on
public heal-h improvement; however, nb health
speci-1ist has been foreseen in the Special FundProJct The Government intends to deal with the
eval'h pr -, ms- a-nd at th. request of the Special
FunO 2eam, in orcr to complete the project with
neccsuary information and programme items in public
healTh improvement, the Government will budget forstudies, data collection and research.
-104-
6. Water Power Development
The bulk of the hydro-power potential of the
project area is contained in the middle course of the
Shire River. According to an examination of the
Halcrow Report the advisable installed total capacity,
at four possible dam sites, is.about 500,000 kilowatts.
The Halcrow Report.based on detailed hydrological
calculations and topographical surveys, also gives
general plans and sections of the suggested dams and
power stations at Matope, Nachimbeya Rapids, at Nkula
Falls, at Mpatamanga Gorge and at Hamilton Falls.
The dam and power sites have been surveyed from a
geological point of view. The preliminary geological
surveys have proved that geological conditions for the
construction of dams and power houses are fairly
advantageous.
As regards power development, the Halcrow Report
seems very reliable on the one hand and up-to-date on
the other, therefore only small modifications may need
to be carried out by the project team. Besides, the
topographical and geological condition of the middle
Shire comprising, as it does, a series of narrow
gorges and rapids almost exclusively limits and
prescribes the main outlines of power development. It
is not requested, therefore, that a permanent expert on
hydro-power should be attached to the Special Fund Team
but a consultant on hydro-power development and
hydraulic structures will be needed for about an
aggregate period of 8 months. The geological problems
related to the power plants to be suggested will be
discussed with the engineering geologist mentioned
already in the previous Section.
- 105 -
7. Water Supply, Sewage and Health
At present the majority of people in the rural
areas obtain their domestic water supplies from boreholes,
wells, dams and rivers. Only borehole supplies can be
regarded as being free from contamination.
Pit latrines are in general use and under present
conditions of settlement can be regarded as reasonably
satisfactory.
No proposals are being included in this report for
the development of domestic water supplies and sewage as
these will be catered for by normal Government Agencies
as and when the need arises within the Prject Area. If
-pecial requirement in planning of water supply and
sewage improvement arises due to the progress of the
Special Fund project, the Government will provide
for the proper planning, the results of which will be
inserted into the final presentation of the Special
Fund Project. Therefore no specialist for water supply
and sewage has been envisaged in the Special Fund
project.
Present health conditions have been described in
Section~C.II.9. It is obvious that the Special Fund
project will influence the governmental programme on
public health improvement; however, no health
specialist has been foreseen in the Special Fund
Project. The Government intends to deal with the
health problems and at the request of the Special
Fund Team, in order to complete the project with
necessary information and programme items in public
health improvement, the Government will budget for
studies, data collection and research.
- 106 -
Co Lmunications
Constant attention will be given, during the
-xecution of the project, to all Governmental projects
connected with the developm'ent of the transportation
network in the Middle and Lower Shire Valley. An A.I.D.
achnical mission has already defined the main lines of
a National Transportation Plan for Malawi and will be
charged with the supervision of its execution (see
Section C.I.2).
A close co-ordination must be established between
the team of experts proposed in this request and the
different organisations charged to carry out the
programme. One of 'the engineering experts will be
commissioned permanently with the co-ordination.
Proposals, if necessary, will be made for the adaption
of the plan to help the integrated development of theproject area. Therefore, no special expert or consult-
ant has been foreseen in this respect in the Special
Fund project team.
107-
Comprehensive study of the human environment
project zone
- the settlement and occupation of the zone,
the human, family and tribal characteristics,
-he family budgets, the migratory streams,
he inducement required to change the traditional
customs in order to render them useful to the
o -velopment of the project area;
- iutrition, health of the population in that
area, the sanitary and educational substructure,
piublic education, framework formation;
e dministrative organisation of the project
area;
'Uhe socio-economic characteristics of the rural
communities, the situation of the co-operative
movement, the agricultural framework, present
methods of rural extension, the proposed
uethod s;
roposals for the settlement on the reclaimed
land within the frame of the project; action
plans for bringing forward the more progressive
,nd co-operative peasant communities by re-
organising their land lay-out in a pattern
-onduciuve to more efficient farming;
organisation of the rural extension work so
as to reach the socio-economic objectives as
de2ined within the project.
va Economy
in ordor to determine the main lines of develop-i {he project area and their objectives, it will
Sil to undertake also, economical studies,
co no nri with the analysis of the present situation,
'U tostablish the nature, the focal point,
; e oJ- rrand the economic value of the investments
i be deemed necessary.
each wpecific case, there are problems of
0 organisation for which concreteh ve to be submitted to the Government.
uo ;uies of general aspect have already been
J c in the -oast (credit, marketing, co-operatives,
eot &ec.) by different experts supplied by
' G, aaional technical assistance. Others will be
o ied before the start of the project. All these
af o _ will have to be examined in the light of
71 i 1 -oblems of the Shire Valley and definite
n1ations will have to be presented to the
t with a view to applying them within the4 a or in order to modify them if necessary.
:in studies to be undertaken, in the
-4-1d, are the following (the project managerwy :oight to complete the list)
--aw'y of the farming structure, methods andr s-ul,. ;
c~onoic studies by sectors, one for each
ag-icultural products of the area;
'1arkceiing and related activities;
ocudy of the circulation of commoditiesithin the country;
definition of a prices policy;
-109-
study of the present handicraft production
and its marketing, proposals for expanding
this production;
industrial feasibility studies, based on the
possibilities of manufacturing agricultural
products from that area, or likely to beintroduced in that area;
credit and financing: Study of the presentorgnisation of agricultural and industrial,rodit systems in the project area, study ofUhe A.I.D. report on the agricultural system;
- -tudy of the sources and methods of financing
nd programme of investments; advice and
r3commendations to the Government.
As an example of the industrial investments whichS ascd-on the agricultural potential in the project
rch the main possibilities are listed as follows :-
Igar factory - this is the obvious industry toI r-LGJ in the first place, because of the existingnLiwnl market which can already absorb the total
oc;pcty of an economical unit of 25,000 tons of sugarr A substantial increase in consumption is
The mill, which a private company is intend-'6 in the Shire Valley during the coming
cope with the actual demand and can beif necessary. Exportation is not contem-
d at present.
The cotton grown here has a medium size stapleb- a fcr practically every purpose. The foreseen
incCZe,- in cotton production will make a textileid try profitable. The extraction of edible oil[in> th1 cotton seed and the use of the remaining cakef~r nCttL, poultry and pig feeding will add interest
C li2 acivity.
- 110 -
Groundnut production, if sufficiently high, will
L L for mechanical shelling. The only manual
lobour required then will be the handpicking of intact
nums for export. The remaining broken or split nuts,
all then be processed in the same mill where cotton
,eed is processed, in order to extract the edible oil.
The rema.ining cake is of outstanding value because of
its hiih protein content, for human consumption
(bim Vuts, crackers etc.) and more specially for
ct-le, poutry and pig feeding.
Ine problem of the containers for oil, which
l iave to be sent empty from abroad, could be
scivGd by a small unit where drums can be made from
pLat, reAdy cut to size and ordered from abroad.
This is an easy work asking for little equipment.
As tie!e edible oils are more and more sold in plastic
containers, these could also be ordered folded so that
Che cost of transport would be low.
Pineapple growing and citrus may lead to canning
j, b vities and, with the sugar at hand, to marmelade
I jwam -roduction.
Production of cassava flour and starch will
uttedly develop now that more and more cassava
,- anted, This is a rural industry asking for
litie and rudimentary equipment.
Another industry to be eventually introduced
n h Shiire Valley is that of the production of
s3y':>- onitrogen fertilizers.
it is fortunate to note that throughout Africa,
"ni cre especially for the area under consideration,
the i -oers are those which are by far
the moat needed and have the best response. With the
admitted principle that the reclaimed area and the
irrigation will be under the control of the Government
- 111 -
through the NASVA (see D.I), which will mean intensive
a-d progreosive agriculture, there will be already a
vc ood market in the country and an almost
i one outside.
The deposit of phosphate minerals in the form of
:0, it,,, also in the Southern Region, could lead to
'IW production of phosphate of ammonia, a highly
I -I-ertilizer. The presence of coal deposits
: ,-study of their use for the production of
a> a~iocaI urea fertilizers and other products.
Production of these fertilizers is based almost
-xc>.ively on hydroelectric power. The reserves of
u --, r in the country are enormous, it is however,
or wh.ile to point out that if such a factory is put
u r output of the Nkula Falls might prove to be
<ul or insufficient. This shows once more the
good general planning.
- 112 -
i.cmomic Planning and Co-ordination
The economic bearing of the whole of the projectw~fi have to be the cotstant concern of the projectanen&genent, as well as the co-ordination with the
YDarious Government Departments in order to obtain abalaad integration of the plan established for theprocJ ar -a within the national plan of development.
*Qho synthesis of all the conclusions obtained
prticular socio-economic studies should showtrh following -
thc economic tables of the area according tothe methods of national accountancy;
the socio-economic objectives and the main
lines of development of the said area;
projections for 5 to 10 years;
the need for a regional office of developmentto be set up in the area during the project
period under the authority of the national
development committee.
In order to cover all aspects of the socio-ecCno i field listed above, and the necessity for acot :tant co-ordination with the economic departments
of -he Gov'ernment, the economic division will be
3 1i >e rts
general economist who has experience inregional planning and in the techniques ofnational accountancy. He will have the
entire responsibility for the studies andactions listed under the title "GeneralEconomic Planning", and he will be in charge
- 113 -
of the studies arranged under the title
"Agricultural Economy", with the help of
the consultants mentioned later.
Duration : 24 months
A socio-economist, expert in rural
institutions. He will deal, with the help
of consultants, with all the problems
mentioned under the title " Rural Sociology",
social aspects of development (housing,
health, education, rural extension), the
practical methods to be applied in order to
ensure settlement of the reclaimed land and
the organisation of a co-operative system
of production and of marketing.
Duration : 18 months
b) Consultants
The number of consultants and the duration
of their mission - which generally does not
exceed six months - cannot be strictly
determined without a greater knowledge of
the .robleims that they will have to deal
with. But we can already ascertain the gross
duration according to each problem :
- sociological enquiries 6 months
- marketing 3 months
- handicraft and agricultural
:iali&tion 6 months
- credit and financial
possibilities 3 months
- 114 -
Scheme
The Government is anxious to see the implementation
of some aspects .of the future Development Plan, considering
thet so many extensive and expensive surveys have been done
hout any subsequent implementation. This is expected
to take place before the financing of the final plan is
asked for.
In order to maintain the lively interest shown by
everyone in the development of the country and more part-
icularly of the Shire River Valley and also in order to show
the popultion that the Government is concerned with their
imediate welfare, a pilot settlement scheme is proposed
which not only will give a picture of one type of future
Government development scheme but will also provide an income
to a sizeable group of farmers. Besides, this vill make the
farmers famili.ar with irriiation, and such training is
needed if irrigation on a higher scale is contemplated.
The pilot scheme could be opened in the northern part
of tho proposed concession to the Lonrho sugar estate at
rIcho, preferably as near to the river as possible in order
to avoi unnecessary length of the main irrigation pipe1 .A g-ood location, to be investigated b- the team's
P rts. seems to be east and west of Tsekeni and Nyamphota.lages where 1)000 acres could easily be found. Both
'v ~llag are located at approximately 500 yards from the
river
It is impossible at this stage to give detail-ed firures
for thn cost of such a project but it is suggested that the
team, or at least those experts who are more directly con-
cernc 1 -ith this problem, should give priority to this work
so that after a very short time implementation can start.
Due to the lack of time at the disposal of the Team sent
out to-assizt the Government in drawing up the present
request to the United Nations Special Fund, only tentative
estimates of the costs are made, but it is suggested that
a lump sum could be put at the dispo'sal of the project
- 115 -
manacer. The cost of irrigation to be reclaimed from the
farmer when he sells his cane has been taken from figures
obteined from the personnel presently at work on the Lonrho
estate et Nchalo. The cost of 10 - 12 shillings per acre-
inch includes depreciation, so that finally the money for
the pilot scheme will be refunded. As a contribution of
the Special Fund to this pilot scheme, with the aim to
encourage the farmers, it is suggested that only one year's
irrigation costs would be claimed for refund when the farmer
sells his c'ne.
The pilot project would consist in sugar cane cultiv-
ation with foodcrop plots as well, under sprinkler irrigation
as has been planned for the estate. Collaboration on
technical questions like frequency. of irrigation and amount
of water to be applied will be obtained from Lonrho, perhaps
agrainst a 'small royalty. The cane will be sold to the mill.
Presently the multiplication of the cane is done at
Makanpa. Lonrho. expects to plant some 600 acres in 1965.The first large-scale planting in the pilot shcme cannot be
expected before 1966 so that cuttings will be available frcm
the estate for the 1,000 acres in smallholdings. It is
understood that the pilot scheme will be applied in a
cons(lidated area with geometric, gapless and grouped pattern.
The lump sum which is requested amounts to $170,000.The following items have been estimated to establish this
fimure, but because of lack of time they could not be checked
and some items may have been overlooked, they are therefore
tentative:-
2 miles .8 pipes)14 miles 61 pipes) 100,000
5 miles 4, pipes)2 pumping stations of -50 HP withfoundation 15,000
80 sprinkler guns, 50 yards radius loooo
Bends, tees, connection, reductionjoints, valves, etc. 10,000
Two years, sprinkling of 1,000 acres,45 inches a year 20,000
- 116 -
Unforeseen 15,000
Total lump sum requested from 170,000Special Fund
Depreciation:
on five years = .50 000 =30,000 a year
To add: sprinkling per year = $10,000
Unit costs,4000 per year = $40 per acre/year,1,000 acres
or $80 on the two year cycle.
The farmer will have to refund $80 per acre for this two
years' sprinkling or only $40 if the Special Fund agrees
to remit the remainder as an encouragement.
The cane will be bought by the mill on the basis of
the sugar content. As the cutting period will be fixed by
the mill itself and considering that there is no reason why
the farmer would have much less production than the estate
because he is followinr the same practices, a production of
.4 tons of sugar per acre may be expected. The price which
will be paid to the farmer for his cane cpnnot yet be fixed
but trken at a minimum of 2d. per lb/sugar he would gross
.110. From this, depending on the Special Fund decision,$40 or 80 should be refunded to United Nations Special Fund
on the basis of 12/- per acre/inch of irrigation, depreciation
included. This means that finally half of the lump sum of
$170,000 will be recouped if $40 per acre is claimed or the
whole sum if $0 is repaid.
I> rion~ Phrses, Priorities and Organisation of
the rro oct
1. Project Period
The Cvernment of Malawi hopes to obtain a con-
tr buiic. irom the 3pecial Fund as soon as possible in
o to nttai the objectives aimed at in the Lower and
Mii~d Shire Valley Development Project which are deter-
minng acto:. n the general development plan of Malawi.
Sit has been already explained there are
convi~nc roes' s for concentrating the project period
vith rs (see Section C.II.13).
- ll8 -
2. fhases and Priorities
iroject periods, in generil, cnn be divided into
three phases: the reconnaissance and preparatory phase;
th- operational phase; the synthesis and planning phase.
In the present case, however, a sharp distinction
cennot be made, since on the basis of existing data, the
operational and even the synthesis phases can be commenced
in the first part of the project period.
It is important to point out again that priority
should be given, in the project, to the Lower stretch of
tb-e main river valley and the marshes situated therein.
Therefore, all efforts should be made by the Project Team
to draw up a complete water control scheme for the Shire
River in order to obtain a proper hydrological and hydraulic
basis for the full utilisation of agricultural potentials
and water resources.
Besides, priority should be given to the pilot
scheme described in Section D.I.12, since an early establish-
--t of this pilot irrigation farm and the experiences to
be g-ined during the project period will give very valuable
egricultural and hydraulic information to the final develop-
ment of the project, and will render possible also the
aproprite t rining of farmers in agricultural and irrigation
practice.
- 119 -
. r-nisation
1. The organisation and implementation of the project
is the responsibility of the Executive Agency,
through the intermediary of the Project Manager,
recruited by the ,gency with the agreement of the
Government.
2. The Executive Agency will form, within a given
period, a team to be placed under the authority
of the Project Manager.
E1ach me1mber of the team must have the approval
of the Government.
The Executive ,gency will provide the equipment
in due time.
3. On the other hand the Government will provide the
counterparts in kind nesessary for the work of
the experts.
I:. The Governmentys agency responsible for the
Government's participation in the project shall
be the National Development Comittee which will
choose and appoint the Co-Manager of the project
in agreement with the Executing Agency.
5. It is suggested that the Head Office of the Special
Fund Project Team should be located in the town of
Blantyre which lies very near to the lower stretch
of the Shire Valley.
Besides, a local office should be established at
>iakanga Research Station.
The Government will make provision for office
accoimodation in Blantyre for thirteen experts
together with drawing office and clerical facilities.
-120-
U.N. SPECIAL FUND PROJECT - MALAWI : PRE-INVESThENT PROJECT FOR THE LOdER AND,
LIIDDLE SHIRE VALLEY DEVELOPMENT
Schedule of Operations
-lanning Table of Professional Staff Months 1965 1966 1967
Internationally recruited Experts ofService
1. Project Manager 24 (+4) 4 12 12
2. Senior Hydraulic Engineer 24 (+4) 4 12 12
3. General Economist 24 12 12
4. Hydraulic Engineer 18 12 6
5. Hydraulic Engineer 24 12 12
6. Land Use Expert 24 12 12
7. Land tenure Expert 14 (+4) 4 12 2
8. Settlement Expert 24 12 12
9. Soil Scientist 18 6 12
10. Hydrologist 12 12 -11. Groundwater Expert 18 12 6
12. Soil Mechanics and Earth StructureExpert 24 12 12
13. Rural Sociology Expert 18 6 12
14. Forestry Expert 18 12 6
15. Pasture and Cattle Husbandry Expert 12 6 616. Topographist (Engineer) 24 12 12
17. Administrative Officer 12 12
344(+12) 12 186 158
Consultants 68
412(+12) 12 220 192
* See Special Request (Section D, IV)
-121-U.N. SPECIAL FUND PROJLCT - MAL.i: PR:E-INVEST0EiT PROJECT FOR THE LOVER AOD
M MDLE SHIRE VALLEY DEVELOPMETIII BLDGET
Ilan of ExpenditureUnited lations Special Fund Allocation
1. Experts and Consultants
Total Estimated Cash Disbursen:it
manMonths
T.otal 1966 1567
a. Eerts Cost
1 Project Manager - Lither a senior hyciraul 24 41400 20700 20700
engineer or a senior general agronomist
2 enior Hydraulic Eng. Uater Research Dev. 24 41400 20700 20700
Planning3 General conomist 24 41400 20700 20700
4 Hydraulic Eng. - Flood Control and Land 18 31050 20700 10350
Reclamation
5 Hydraulic Eng. - Irrigation and Drainage 24 41400 20700 20700
6 Land use Expert 24 41400 20700 20700
7 Land tenure Exp.ert 14 24150 20700 3450
8 Settlement zxpert 24 41400 20700 2070,'
9 Soil Soientist 18 31050 20700 10350
10 Hydrologist - Surface Water Expert 12 20700 20700 -
11 Groundwater Expert 18 31050 20700 - 0350
12 Soil mecanics and Earth structure -xpert 24 41400 20700 207&)O
13 Rtral Sociology Expert 16 31050 10350 0700
14 PQrestry Expert 18 31050 20700 10350
15 Pasture and Cattle Husbandry Expert 12 20700 10350 10350
16 Topografhist (eng.) 24 41400 20700 20700
17 Administrative Officer 24 32800 16400 l6400(
344 584800 326900 254900
b. Consultants * 68 117300 58650
412 702100 385550 316550
* s. Appendix I, 1
-122-
United Nations Special Fund Allocation
2. Fellowships
Total Estimated Cash Diburs extMan 9
Months Total Cost 21966 1
1 Hydrology 12 5000)2 Irrigation and Drainage 24 10000) )
3 Soil Mechanics 12 5000)4 Hydrobiology 12 50005 Rice Cultivation 12 5000,6 Photo Interpretation 12 5000
7 Pasture and Husband-ry 12 5000) 42000 ) 4.LCC8 Forestry 12 5000)9 Erosion Control 12 5000
10 soil Sciences 12 500011 Entomology 12 500012 Economic Analysis Planning 12 5000)13 Sociology and Cooperatives 12 5000) )
168 84000 42000 42000
7Dm
-123-United Nations Special Fund Allocation _
3. Equipment
Estimated Cash Disbursemci.nt
Total Cost 1966 2f7
a 1 helicopter for the marsh survey * 167 400 8? 700 83 7'b 2 po-er a*ters for exploratory borings 11 200 11 200c 2 lndrover trucks for the power angers 11 000 11 000
2 C-ravans for the boring teams 6 000 6 000o 2 Caiping equipment for the boring teams 1 000 1 000f 2 Caing equipment for field surveys 1 000 1 000
g 20 Vehicles for the experts and consultants 60 000 60 000-. 3 outboard motorboats ith 2 spare motors -5 000 5 000i 1 dccked motorboat 8 000 8 000
j pedologic field equipment (angers) 1 000 1 000k 12 frogman equipment (lower part) 1 200 1 200
1 pedological laboratory equipment 10 000 10 000
r foliar analysis equipment 3 000 3 000
1 chemicals forEnalysis 2 2 000 2 000
o pedology and foliar an. lab.(339 m ) 23 000 23 000
p 5 residential houses compl. equipped (Mkanga) 60 000 60 00
1 pasienger house for consultants 20 000 20 000r 2 fifty kw three-phase diesel el. power gen. 1) 16 000 16 000s 1 mobile 4umping unit 15 000 15 000
resorts, maps, docunentation 15 000 7 000 8 0Ju pilot scheme equipment ** 170 000 170 000
606 800 515 100 91 700
* see Appendix I, m** see section D, III, 6
1) with switching equipment and lines tolaboratory and houses
-124-
United Nations Special Fund Allocation
4. Sub-Cont -acts
stimated Cash Disbursenmn:
Total Cost 1966 1067
4. Sub-Contracts
a. Scale model. experiment on the main
irrigation structure 25 000 25 000
b. Exploratory drillings at 4 structure sites 36 000 24 000 12 000
C. Jerial Survey and Mapping * 233 000 233 000
294 000 282 000 12 C00
5 Miscellaneous
a. Printing of the final report 10 000 10 000
b. Secretarial and Clerical assiatance.Contingencies (65' of Staff cost) 42 000 21 000 21 CO
p 000 21 000 31 000
SPECIAL FUND ALLOCATION 1738 900 1245 650 493 250* See iippendix I, m
-125-U.Ii. SPECIAL FUiID PROJECT - MALAI : PRE -INVSr:2T PROJECT 1.R THE LOPAR API)
MIDDLE SIRE VALLEY DEVLOPMST
Plan of Expeinditure
Govrnent's Counterpart Contribution in Kind and estimated Oost
(The financial year starts on 1st January)
Month Estimated Cash Disbursg3leMen Total 1963 1967
1. Personnel
a) Specialist Staff
1 roject Co-Mianager 24 12 960 6 480 6 4802 E-draulic Engineer - flood control
and land reclamation 24 11 280 5 640 5 D40
3 Iydraulic Engincer - irrigation anddrainare 24 11 280 5 640 5 C4
4 Land Use Specialist 24 11 280 5 640 5 <5 Settlement Specialist 24 11 280 5 6406 Groundater S&ecialist 24 11 280 5 640 57 4Tricultural Economist 24 11 280 5 640 5
b Hydrologist 24 11 280 5 640 5(4-9 Pasture and Cattle Husbandry Specialist 18 8 460 2 820 5 .3
10 Drilling Supervisor Eng. 18 8 460 5 640 2 J20
11 Soil Analyst 24 11 280 5 640 56 <012 Tropical Industrial crops Specialist 24 11 280 5 640 5 340
13 Topographist 24 4 3 7 203 3720300 138 840 69 420 69 4K2
Othcr' Staff
1 -i-cretary (at Al54/month) 24 3 696 1 848 1 (
1 w'orthind Tyist (at p154/month) 24 3 696 1 848 1
2 typists (at 80/Month) 48 3 640 1 820 1
22 drivers (at p86/month) 528 45,408 22 704 22 712 nrilling technicians (at P86/month) 36 3 096 1 548 82 soil mech. lab. assists. (at p86/month) 36 3 096 1 548 -L
4 draftsmen (at 886imonth) 72 6 192 2 064 4
3 :oi1 analysis lab. asit (at $49/month) 72 3 528 1 764 1 71 motor boat mechanic (at 086/month) 24 2 064 1 032 1 C2
40 labourers (at 11w/month) 960 10 560 5 280 5 2
4 l1es engers (at 17A/month) 96 1 632 816 C-,4 Techn. assist. for substations (at 86/
month) 962__ 825 4 1282 016 94 864 46 400 48
Total Cost of the Counterpart Staff 2 316 233 704 115 020 117
-126-Government's Counterpart Contribution in Kind and estimated Cost
2. Felloviships Month Estimated Cash Disburs a.man
Total 1966 19S7
1. Hydrology 12 1 800 900 9,2. Irrigation and Drainage 24 3 600 1 800 1 C(0
3. Soil mechanics 12 1 800 900'. Hydrobiologr 12 1 800 9005. Rice Cultivation 12 1 800 9006. Photo Interpretation 12 1800 9007. Pacture and Husbandry 12 1 800 900A. 7orcstry 12 1800 9009. Erosion CoAtrol 12 1 800 90010 Soil Sciences 12 1 800 90011 Entomology 12 1 800 900 )0G12Lconomic Analysis and.Plan 12 1 800 900 0013 Sociology and Co-operatives 12 1 800 900 J
'ictal of the Counterpart Fellowshi.s 168 25 200 12 600 12 6C'
-127-
GoveriieriVs Gount. Iarpart Contribution in Kind and Estimated Cost
3. Construction, equimenk, supies s itJ Cash Dibur
Total 1966 1967
a. Mnin office in Llantyre (rent, equit.) 3 600 1 800 1
b. eg-ional office in .k nsa (rent, equivalent) 1 800 500
c. 2oundations of 5 prefabr. houses 10 000 10 000 -
0. 4 houes. for techn. offc. + sundry build. forsubstation 20 000 20 000 -
e. o0fice equipment cind stationery 7 000 4 0 0 3 0C
f. seavicing a r:.-ir of vehicles 7 000 3 500fu1 for the vohicles 15 000 7 500
Auel for 2 diesel cloctric planto (1 ITj ) 2 000 1 40
" xecution of exloratory drillinds 5 400 3 600 11 0 oroundwnter observation wels (at /40) 11 200 11 200
lab 'analysis of groundv.7ater sgooes 900 900
1. Soils o nalysis at Chitedze 000 1 500
87 700 66 300 2 4
Total Counter.art contribution in kind expresscdin US / 346 604 194 720
-128-
TOTAL GOIR ME'NThT COI4TRIBUTTIION II
Total 1Q66
w 6unterpart Contribution in Kind 346 604 194 720 171 0;4
Conti~bution towards locel %erating costs * 105315 - 33_ .
451 919 252 553 1 3
* 15 of the .xerts and Consultants cost(702 ,100)
-129-
IV. Special Request
It should be repeated that very comprehensive survey
and research work have already been done and an abundant
quantity of data and project proposals are available. This
induced the Government to request an urgent and relatively
short project period. In order to achieve this aim, on the
advice of the Special Fund Preparatory Team, it is believd
necessary that three experts should arrive four months
earlier than the commencement date of the project period
(see Section C.II.13). Therefore a pre-financement of 12
expert/months is requested, which totals $20,700.
It is highly desirable to receive a pre-financement
for a scale-model experiment to be carried out abroad in
a hydraulic laboratory. The aim of this experiment is to
obtain basic data for the flood control.and river improve-
ment scheme in the Chiromo area (confluen-ce of the Shire
and Ruo) at an early stage of the project period (see
Section D.I.2). Since the completion and evaluation of
such an experiment needs about a year, an immediate pre-
financement is highly desirable.
It is indispensable to plan flood control and river i
channel improvement with a margin of safety in order to
avoid over-topping of protection dykes by extreme floods.
Under marginal conditions, as is the case here, the problcm
can be properly solved by scale-model experiments, only.
A proper flood control scheme in this densely populated
area will protect human life and intensively cultivated
lands from catastrophies caused by floods.
The sum needed for this experiment. to be carried out
by a sub-contractor is estimated at 45,000. ) ?The Government will provide for all assistance needed
for the experts referred to in the first paragraph for
accommodation, vehicles, and secretarial services.
In addition the Government takes responsibility for
preparing all initial data required for the scale-model
-i u-
exporiment, which work haIs olready been commenced.
The total sum to bepre-financed is .... $65,700
