Government says that more than 1.4 million bags of fertiliser have so far been collected by farmers under this year’s Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme (FISP).
Mbilizi:
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, this is about 65 percent of all the fertiliser that was planned for farmers this season.
Ministry spokesperson Salome Gangire said the number is almost the same as last year at this time. She said the programme is still running and government has not yet said when it will end.
But the reality on the ground is different.
Many farmers, especially in far and hard-to-reach areas, have not received their fertiliser because some depots do not have stock.
In some places, traders are also forcing farmers to buy only one type of fertiliser, even when both types are supposed to be available.
On seeds, the situation is worse. Many farmers did not receive seeds at all under FISP. This forced them to plant poor quality or uncertified seeds.
Senior Chief Makanjira of Mangochi said that by last Friday, very few farmers in his area had received their inputs.
He said farmers planted maize in December, and by now they should have already finished applying fertiliser. But because fertiliser is coming in February, it is now too late to be useful.
“This means the fertiliser will be wasted because crops have already grown. Farmers are very frustrated and feel the programme is not helping them,” he said.
Government has admitted that the programme has faced serious problems.
Gangire said there were errors in the system, where records showed some farmers had already collected fertiliser, when in fact they had not.
After investigations by the Police, National Audit Office and Anti-Corruption Bureau, it was discovered that some officials were stealing and abusing the system.
She said several officers have already been arrested.
Government also admitted that transporting fertiliser to remote areas has been difficult. The Malawi Defence Force is now being used to help deliver fertiliser to those areas.
Civil society leader Francis Njanje said government must stop repeating the same mistakes every year.
“This is a very important programme. Government must use proper methods so that farmers get help on time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Roza Mbilizi has already launched the new 2025/26 agricultural season, even as many farmers are still waiting for last season’s inputs.
