Call for agriculture budget review
A stakeholder analysis of the 2024/2025 National Budget allocation to the agriculture sector has revealed continued disproportionate allocation of funds towards various areas within the sector.
The situation has prompted experts to call for a thorough review of the sector’s allocations to align with government commitments and the country’s development goals.
The analysis, commissioned by the National Association of Smallholder Farmers in Malawi (Nasfam) and other players in the agricultural sector, was presented at a national Multi-Stakeholder Agriculture Sector 2024/2025 Budget Analysis Meeting organised by Oxfam in Malawi, the Civil Society Agriculture Network (CisaNet), and Nasfam in Mponela on Thursday.
Presenting the analysis to the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Nasfam head of policy and communications Rejoice Chikakuda highlighted the inefficiencies in the budget, calling for a thorough review of the sector’s budget with focus on balanced funds allocation.
She said: “We want the parliamentary committee to review the budget for a more balanced and efficient resource allocation so that all other areas are fully prioritised too.”
Chikakuda said there is also need to align the sector allocation with the country’s long-term development goals as outlined in the Malawi 2063 (MW2063), further indicating there is need to, among others, ensure the efficiency of programmes that are in the sector, including the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP).
She said: “In the agriculture sector budget, the AIP has claimed 63 percent of the other recurrent transactions [ORT] which is quite hefty and continues to affect implementation of the agriculture budget.”
The meeting brought together various civil society organisations and farmers representatives to discuss and share perspectives on the agriculture budget allocation, primarily focusing on ensuring that previously neglected sectors receive adequate financial support.
The delegates also expressed concern over the reduced agriculture sector budget allocation, saying it undermines commitments made under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (Caadp).
They observed that the agriculture sector allocation in the 2024/2025 fiscal year represents only 8.5 percent of the national budget, which is less than the previous 12 percent of last year’s budget, which is against the Caadp recommendation for States to allocate at least 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture to ensure food security and economic development.
Reacting to the observations, Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture vice-chairperson Ulemu Chilapondwa said he agreed with the stakeholders’ analysis, adding there is need for a balanced allocation, noting that areas such as research, irrigation, and markets are equally important.
“We have been engaging the Ministry of Agriculture that when they are doing these allocations, it should be a balanced one,” he said.
Earlier, CisaNet also faulted the government for allocating less than 10 percent of the national budget to the Ministry of Agriculture, saying the 8.5 percent allocation was against the 2014 Malabo Declaration on accelerated agricultural growth and transformation which demands that African Union countries allocate 10 percent of national budgetary resources towards the sector.
In Budget Document 5 Draft Estimates of Expenditure on Recurrent and Capital Budget for the Financial Year 2024/25, Treasury increased budget allocation to anchor farms and agricultural inputs, but slashed allocation to irrigation development and agricultural diversification.
The budget allocation to irrigation development dropped by 45.8 percent from K176.4 billion to K95.6 billion.
Similarly, the government’s allocation to agricultural diversification, which is considered key to Malawi’s goal of creating additional value chains to complement exports such as tobacco and tea, has dropped by 66.7 percent from KK69.4 billion to K23.1 billion in the 2024/25 budget.
However, the budget for anchor farms, under which the megafarms project will run, and agriculture markets, rose from K688 million to K4.8 billion and K27.6 billion to K161.8 billion, respectively.
The budget for agricultural inputs also went up from K109.8 billion to K161.1 billion, presumably to compensate for the 44 percent devaluation of the kwacha effected in November last year and the rising cost of inputs
In the K5.998 trillion 2024/2025 National Budget, the health sector tops the list with a K729 billion allocation compared to K479 billion for agriculture.
Ironically, agriculture alongside tourism and mining are listed as priority areas in President Lazarus Chakwera’s ATM strategy. Government believes it can achieve food security, job creation and wealth generation by focusing on the three areas.
