Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture chairperson Sameer Suleman has asked Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale to resign for presiding over an Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) marred by delays and disparity in availability of inputs.
The Blantyre City South East legislator affiliated to the opposition Democratic Progressive Party expressed his frustrations when he made a surprise visit to Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Resolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) offices in Blantyre to find out how much AIP fertiliser was in stock and ready for distribution.
Said Suleman: “From what I have seen here [SFFRFM warehouse in Chirimba], there is no AIP fertiliser ready for distribution and it is painful to see most beneficiaries not redeeming their fertiliser yet this is the right time for fertiliser application.
“This simply shows that the minister has failed in his duty to manage the AIP. We, therefore, ask him to humbly resign because he has failed his duties.”
Kawale was not available for comment as his phone went unanswered on several attempts.
But last month, he sounded optimistic that the AIP fertiliser situation will improve once the fertiliser under collateral with financial institutions is cleared.
The call for Kawale to resign comes two weeks after the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture summoned Ministry of Agriculture officials to explain delays in AIP implementation and the disparities in the distribution of fertiliser in the three regions.
During the visit yesterday, Suleman engaged SFFRFM chief executive officer Richard Chikunkhuzeni in a closed-door meeting.
After the meeting, Suleman said Chikunkhuzeni indicated that his organisation was waiting for Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs to finalise letters of credits with local banks before proceeding with the fertiliser distribution.
“I am not really convinced with what I have been told. Our people are desperately waiting for the fertiliser,” he said.
Yesterday, Chikunkhuzeni could not grant the media interviews, but he is on record having said that as of November 4 2024 that they had distributed 10 403.20MT of fertiliser.
Of this lot, 6 571.95MT had gone to the Central Region, representing 70 percent.
The quantity excluded 450MT for Ntcheu District which was listed as Southern Region.
On the other hand, the Southern Region had received 3 335.25MT despite that it recieves the rains first. The Northern Region received 496MT.
Parliament approved an allocation of K161 billion for implementation of the AIP this year and 23 companies were engaged to supply fertiliser targeting 1 054 945 beneficiaries.
