Cisanet takes agriculture ministry to task

The Civil Society Agriculture Network (Cisanet) has suggested that the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp) fertiliser bag be sold at 60 percent of the prevailing market prices.

According to Cisanet, this will ensure sustainability of the programme unlike selling a 50 kilogramme bag at K500 regardless of the market price as is the case now.

The market price for a bag of fertiliser is around K15 000 (about $37.50), and if government is to adopt Cisanet’s suggestions, it would mean a bag of fertiliser under Fisp selling at around K9 000 (about $22.50).

In a paper titled: ‘Policy issues requiring immediate redress by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security’, Cisanet outlines a host of issues, including that of Fisp which has been allocated K60.1 billion (about $150m), about 10 percent of 2013/14 budget.

While commending government for introducing input subsidies and acknowledging how the programme has transformed food security in the country, Cisanet says it was concerned at how much the programme has been politicised over the past eight years; hence, losing direction.

“Instead of the number of beneficiaries and the level of government contribution to the cost of a bag of fertiliser reducing, the opposite has been the case, thereby increasing the burden on the government budget, but also increasing the levels of dependence by farmers on the government,” reads the paper in part.

It says though the programme has been receiving huge allocations in the budget, beating the allocation of the whole Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, it has done little to bring about agrarian transformation in the country.

Most of the people who have been benefiting from the programme since its inception are as poor today as the day they started receiving subsidised inputs, says Cisanet.

But Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security spokesperson Sara Tione said what is important is that Fisp continues to contribute to food self sufficiency, adding the ministry continues to brainstorm on better alternatives.

Cisanet has commented on a number of issues including a lack of strategic gene banks for livestock species.

Under the ongoing implementation of presidential initiatives and similar initiatives by various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Cisanet observes that the already depleted livestock gene banks were exhausted.

“There have been no initiatives to replenish the stocks, yet there is huge demand for livestock out there. In fact, some of these initiatives are even importing the breeding stocks from outside Malawi, yet we have all the potential to breed a variety of livestock,” Cisanet notes.

Tione, however, indicated that the livestock department has been producing for farmers to use in artificial insemination and that plans have been there to scale it up.

She pointed out though that importation of improved breeds will continue so that better calves are born.

Cisanet has also bemoaned the lack of organisation in the agriculture marketing and trade environment, arguing that Malawi’s agriculture marketing and trade environment discourages smallholder producers to competitively participate in various agriculture value chains; hence, not generating enough profits out of it.

There is a consensus within Cisanet that the non-conducive agriculture marketing and trade environment has been exacerbated by the lack of legislation to guide the whole agriculture marketing and trade in Malawi.

In response, Tione noted that government continues to put in place measures to improve agricultural marketing, citing contract farming in tobacco.