Spies on guard: Malawi deploys intelligence agents as fertiliser handouts launch for 1.2million farmers

Malawi government has officially launched its 2026/27 Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme, promising more than 1.2 million smallholder farmers access to cheap fertiliser and seed — but issued a chilling warning to officials involved in its distribution that any theft or diversion of the vital supplies will not be tolerated.

Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Roza Fatch Mbilizi presided over the launch at Kalira 1 Primary School Ground in the area of Traditional Authority Vuso Jere, revealing that a staggering 1,221,862 farmers are expected to benefit this year — a significant jump from the 1.1 million who received support last season.

“Government wants FISP to benefit farmers not only in food production but also in income generation,” Mbilizi told the gathered crowd.

Under the new arrangement, farmer organisations will be handed coupons allowing them to redeem subsidised NPK and Urea fertiliser at K20,000 per bag, alongside a five-kilogramme bag of certified maize seed priced at K10,000.

The scheme will specifically target farmers cultivating between 0.4 and two acres of land, with farmer organisations tasked with selecting beneficiaries and redeeming inputs collectively as groups — a move designed to boost transparency and accountability.

Beneficiaries will also be paired up to produce organic Mbeya fertiliser, supplementing the subsidised inputs they receive.

“Each pair of farmers will make 10 bags from two bags of NPK and Urea and use this on about four acres,” Mbilizi explained.

The minister didn’t hold back in addressing last year’s troubling scandal, when fertiliser theft plagued several institutions responsible for managing the scheme.

“I have warned everyone involved in managing this process to ensure that not a single bag of fertiliser is stolen or diverted from the right beneficiaries,” she declared firmly.

In a bid to prevent a repeat of last season’s embarrassment, Mbilizi confirmed that security agencies and government intelligence operatives had been deployed to safeguard the inputs throughout the distribution process — including during transportation.

The minister also revealed that all fertiliser required for the season had already been secured through procurement, while government was working urgently to shorten the distribution timeline following criticism over last season’s delayed rollout.

On the wider agricultural strategy, Mbilizi confirmed government was pushing forward with irrigation development, rehabilitating irrigation schemes and rolling out solar-powered pumps to nearly 800 sites nationwide — a critical lifeline for farmers battling brutal El Niño-induced dry spells.

Meanwhile, Ntchisi East legislator Phoebe Chikaonda praised the decision to launch the programme in her constituency, urging beneficiaries to pull together to maximise their harvests.

“We are humbled that the programme started here in my constituency, and I urge beneficiaries organised in groups to work together to maximise their harvest,” she said.

Beneficiaries at the launch welcomed the early rollout of inputs, saying the timely distribution would finally allow them to begin crucial land preparations ahead of the coming farming season.