Farmers want tax waiver on irrigation equipment

Farmers in Karonga District have called on government to remove duty on irrigation equipment to enable them enhance irrigation farming to improve food and income security.

The call comes a month after President Lazarus Chakwera toured irrigation projects in Rumphi and Karonga districts. During the visit, the President appealed to farmers to embrace irrigation farming to counter food shortage in the country.

In an interview, farmer Faswani Silungwe said the district has fresh waters and arable soil that, if well utilised, can turn it into a food basket.

“Small-scale farmers have the potential to venture into irrigation farming. However, the major challenge is exorbitant prices of irrigation equipment. Let government put a waiver on the equipment so that more small-scale farmers can buy them,” he said.

Another farmer, Collins Mwenekibombwe, said it was high time government facilitated the formation of farmers’ clubs and initiated farm inputs loans at competitive interest rates.

“We have a lake and rivers, but we fail to utilise the water resources due to lack of irrigation equipment.

“It is either government subsidises the equipment or removes excise duty on them.”

In a separate interview, an agriculture expert Tamani Nkhono Mvula agreed with the farmers, saying high prices of irrigation equipment is hampering winter farming.

“Let government remove duty on the equipment or consider subsidising them so that farmers can afford them,” he said.

However, Ministry of Agriculture Principal Secretary Dickxie Kampani said government is trying to ensure that most irrigation equipment is affordable for small-scale farmers.

“Although I might not be exact on which equipment is imported duty-free but most of the irrigation equipment is imported duty-free to enhance winter cropping,” he said.