Registration fees, shrinking lists and no fertiliser: Mwanza farmers seek accountability

A year after politicians promised cheap fertiliser and seed to thousands of farmers in Mwanza, many are still waiting for the inputs as the planting season begins, raising uncomfortable questions about what happened to registration fees collected from villagers and why promised beneficiaries were progressively removed from the programme.

At the centre of the growing discontent is not only the delayed arrival of subsidised farm inputs, but also concerns about accountability in a scheme that many farmers say required them to pay K1,000 each to register after the election.

Residents claim they complied with the registration exercise in the expectation that they would access fertiliser and seed at the heavily subsidised prices promised during the campaign.

Yet, more than a year later, many say they have received neither the inputs nor a satisfactory explanation about the money collected from applicants.

The controversy has deepened because of changes to beneficiary lists that farmers say were never fully explained. What initially appeared to be a broad-based programme covering most applicants was, according to local accounts, later reduced to 50 per cent of beneficiaries before being cut further to around 20 per cent.

For those who remained on the list, the allocation itself became another source of concern. Some farmers say they were advised to share coupons among multiple households and supplement limited fertiliser allocations with organic manure.

Others report being asked to contribute transport money to facilitate the delivery of inputs that have yet to arrive.

As of 8 November, many farmers in the district said they had not received either fertiliser or seed despite the onset of the rainy season.

The delays have amplified concerns about transparency and communication in the management of the programme.

Farmers say they have received little information about the status of their applications, the criteria used to remove beneficiaries from the lists or the handling of registration fees collected from participants.

The timing is particularly sensitive. With rains already falling across parts of the district, farmers argue that delays in accessing inputs could undermine crop production and household food security.

Government, however, maintains that the national rollout of subsidised inputs is progressing and that supplies are being distributed in phases.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Erica Maganga said 5,042.85 metric tonnes of fertiliser had been dispatched nationwide by 27 October, comprising 2,636.4 metric tonnes of NPK and 2,406.45 metric tonnes of urea.

According to Maganga, the initial phase prioritised remote districts and areas expected to receive early rainfall, while the remaining districts were scheduled to receive their first consignments during the first two weeks of November.

She said 7,060.25 metric tonnes had already been distributed to regional depots from the national FISP stock of 61,093 metric tonnes, with subsequent deliveries being rolled out according to accessibility and rainfall patterns.

Maganga also said certified maize seed was expected to become available from 9 November following processing, treatment and packaging, while district agriculture offices had been instructed to provide timely information on delivery schedules.

Responding to concerns from farmers holding FISP coupons but unable to access fertiliser, she said the ministry was monitoring redemption rates and enforcing bulk redemption through farmer organisations to curb irregularities and coupon trading.

The ministry has also advised farmers awaiting fertiliser deliveries to begin preparing chinkhunzi manure for the production of Mbeya organic fertiliser so that decomposition can take place before inorganic fertiliser arrives.

Significantly, Maganga acknowledged that irregularities had been detected in some areas of the programme.

She said corrective action, including the replacement of responsible personnel, had been taken where cases of non-compliant redemption and sales outside designated areas were identified.

For farmers in Mwanza, however, the central questions remain unanswered. They want to know why they were asked to pay registration fees, how beneficiary lists were reduced, and why the promised inputs have not reached them despite the start of the planting season.

Until those questions are addressed, what began as a flagship election promise risks becoming a test of accountability in the delivery of one of the country’s most important agricultural support programmes.

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