TRANSFORMING Landscapes for Resilience and Development (TRALARD) National Coordinator, John Banda, says the automatic weather stations that the TRALARD project has installed nationwide have been helpful for planning purposes.

In an interview with ZANIS, Mr Banda noted that 120 automatic weather stations have been installed nationwide, including in Chifunabuli District of Luapula Province.

Mr Banda stated that the weather stations have proved to be a good investment as they have been able to generate information that has been used for planning purposes such as information for farmers to plan on planting periods of their crops and early warning systems for navigations.

“Here in Luapula, we have several water bodies and these automatic weather stations like this one at Lubwe Secondary School, have been vital for early warning systems,” he said.

Mr Banda added that in terms of livestock diseases, there are parameters that the automatic weather stations have been able to measure to alert the farmers.

“Generally, we are quite happy with the work that has been done through this project. We are also happy with the support we are receiving from the government in training our beneficiaries in various activities under the project,” he said.