Finance ministry takes over FISP payments as farm inputs distribution delay

Minister of Agriculture Allan Chiyembekeza has partly blamed the delays in the distribution of farm inputs to bureaucracy in government over payments, saying they will now be direct directly at treasury.

Chiyembekeza: FISP delays
Chiyembekeza: FISP delays

Chiyembekeza’s comment amid panic calls from the farmers and legislators to speed up the distribution as the country counts down to the onset of first rains.

“For the first time, payment is now done at the ministry of Finance, this can delay the process but we are doing all we can to ensure our farmers get the farm inputs on time,” said Chiyembekeza.

He said so far 20000 metric tonnes of fertilizer has already been distributed to marketers of the community ready to be distributed to farmers.

Members of parliament this week took the government to task as to why it has not yet procured seeds for the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) but Chiyembekeza dismissed this as mere hearsay and untrue,.

Nyasa Times has established that the severe delays of the distribution of the farm input is a result of government’s failure to procure fertilizer on time as it owes most suppliers a staggering K500m million in debt.

“The fact of the matter is that the government is struggling to pay the money, much of it unexplained that is why the ministry of Finance has taken over all the payment exercise,” said our source.

Nyasa Times also understands that Ministry of Agriculture delayed in awarding tenders and issuing of assignment notices to the banks for forex only made suppliers sign contracts in weakening Malawi Kwacha currency whilst all fertiliser are imported and there is a devaluation of 6 %.

All the years the contracts were pegged in dollars and government has refused to pay any interest on delayed payment.

Most suppliers will fail to supply if government fails to compromise on changing the contract pegged to Dollars as exchange rate loss will be hug.

Economists on Thursday told President Peter Mutharika to prepare exit strategies for FISP arguing the yearly K80b is unsustainable.

This year the government has increased the price of the farm inputs from K500 to K3000 per pack that includes fertilizer and seeds for maize and legumes but donors have already asked the government to stop this and direct the money instead to crop research and farming mechanisation to boost crop production.

UNICEF predicts that Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Somalia will face severe food shortages due to El Nino effects.

Malawi government says up to 3 million people face severe food shortages leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera says parliament is ready to increase allocation to relief food if it is not adequate saying the situation on the ground is dire.

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :

Sharing is caring!

Follow us in Twitter
14 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
chimwemwe
chimwemwe
8 years ago

FISP in mess suppliers are not supplying due to contract changed last minute by GG into kwachas, government very weak and farmers brace for tough times

WIN.B
WIN.B
8 years ago

zativuta ife a DPP tavomereza komabe tipatsen mpata tikonza zimenez

MUSOVA
MUSOVA
8 years ago

Muziona mwakula mwatha! Boma lija ndilimeneli

mukharapwio
8 years ago

something doesn’t add up can a whole programme worth 80 billion fail to be run smoothly just bcoz of failure to pay a 500 million debt,who are these bureacrats who are holding our farmers in a stranglehold can’t they be sacked,can’t the Hon Min raise this issue with the President,if really the seed has bn procured where is it and when are the farmers going to access it,last wk the Hon Min said the fisp is gonna start this wk can he explain if this shifting of the programme to Goodall is part of the start

ndata
ndata
8 years ago

Percy, you really understand the blue mind poor mindset. The cashgate song will go on until 2019. Mediocre performance and cluelessness will always be attributed cashgate. We have not heard anything on irrigation and in their poor thinking if we experience famine next year it will also be due to cashgate

Zambulo
Zambulo
8 years ago

Dzaanyera awa. Siirani anzanu ayendetse bomali

Dr Haswel P Bandawe
Dr Haswel P Bandawe
8 years ago

Procurement of food inputs and imports as necessary; buying expensive vehicles and unnecessary spending on trips abroad.

Again, for a country which has good agricultural land and rivers as well as lakes food shortages are a disgrace. The nation has got its priorities wrong. Again, there is considerable scope for use of natural manure instead of chemical fertilisers which drain the soil of its nsturall nutrients. Ordinary farmers can be taught how to make compost manure. The Ministry of Agriculture must wake up to this. We cannot, as a nation, be begging for everything including food!!

mphepo zinai
mphepo zinai
8 years ago

Mediocre, incompetent leadership bent on corruption and priortises mapwevupwevu. Chilima and a few others are just hangers on used as a cover for the real owners – Mulakho…

Mavizi mtanga
Mavizi mtanga
8 years ago

Busy buying military planes yet people are dying of hunger. Bullocks

Mbuzi Mathanyula goverment
Mbuzi Mathanyula goverment
8 years ago

Such a stupid government. They can not find 500 million to for fertilizer that will benefit 15 million plus malawians but they pay 300 million for cars for the speaker and leader of oppositions and another, 200 million for cars for MRA boss and a sectretary. What is it about black people that we like to buy expensive non productive things and we do not invest our moneys? Is it difficault to set priorities here? Our stupidity is amazing!!!!!!!

Read previous post:
Likoma islanders demand District Health Office

People at Likoma Island, whose district health officer is stationed at Nkhata Bay boma are demanding answers from the government...

Close