Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development has handed over 25 067 coupons to Blantyre District Council and warned local officials against any mismanagement ahead of this year’s Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme (Fisp).
Speaking on Wednesday during the handover ceremony in Blantyre, the ministry’s deputy Fisp coordinator Macley Mtekateka said any public officer involved in corrupt practices or mismanagement of the coupons during the distribution exercise will face the law.
Blantyre District Council director of agriculture services Edward Katunga said the coupons will reach the intended beneficiaries and will be distributed on time to allow farmers to redeem their farming inputs promptly.
| Memory Chatonda
“We are more than ready to distribute the coupons to farmers in the district’s five extension planning areas of Lunzu, Kunthembwe, Chipande, Lirangwe and Ntonda. All things being equal, the exercise will start on Thursday [yesterday] and finish on Friday [today],” he said.
Meanwhile, the Malawi Police Service has pledged to tighten security throughout the distribution exercise in the district to prevent any irregularities or security breaches.
Under the initiative in Blantyre District, each farming household is entitled to one 50-kilogramme (kg) bag of NPK basal fertiliser, one 50kg bag of Urea top-dressing fertiliser and a 5kg pack of certified maize seed.
