Chiyembekeza speaks on Filp

Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Allan Chiyembekeza yesterday told Parliament that the Farm Input Loan Programme (Filp) will resume at the end of this month owing to successful repayment of loans by beneficiaries.

In his response to a question from Member of Parliament (MP) for Mzimba Solora, Jacob Hara, Chiyembekeza said Filp will still be implemented despite the new Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration prioritising the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp).

He said: “Government is considering to resume the programme, but doing so will depend on how much loans have been repaid.”

However, according to Hara, Chiyembekeza’s response contradicted the earlier statement by Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development  Goodall Gondwe who alluded to the discontinuation of the programme started by the People’s Party (PP) administration of former president Joyce Banda owing to a high default rate by beneficiaries.

So far, about K3.1 billion has been recovered out of the K11.1 billion disbursed.