FUM, chiefs lament AIP challenges

Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) has asked the government to urgently address challenges rocking the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) as they threaten food security.

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by FUM president Mannes Nkhata, the farmers’ body expressed worry that there are few selling points which also do not have adequate fertiliser.

FUM said this was forcing farmers to travel long distances, spending days and more money at the selling points.

Reads the statement: “When the government decided that AIP fertiliser will only be distributed through Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi [SFFRFM], we doubted the capacity of SFFRFM to timely deliver fertiliser to farmers across the country.

“True to our doubts, we have noted with concern SFFRFM has only managed to sale fertiliser in few selling points located in areas that are far from most farmers; hence, forcing already constrained farmers to travel long distances to access the fertiliser.”

FUM has called on the government to ensure that there are more selling points to ease the challenges that farmers are facing.

“The selling points should also be properly stocked with both-basal and top dressing fertiliser so that farmers access the fertiliser at once to cut costs,” it said.

The organisation fears that the challenges pose a threat to food security for the nation.

FUM observed that government does not have a complete beneficiaries list, which is giving problems in accessing farm inputs. The union says evidence on the ground indicates that the beneficiary list is largely ambiguous hence bringing confusion among farmers and providing a fertile ground for corruption.

It has further condemned alleged corruption in selling points, saying it is now common for farmers to pay between K5 000 and K15 000 extra to redeem a bag of fertiliser.

The union has since called on government to address the malpractice.

The Nation spot checks yesterday established that a number of areas in the Central Region do not have selling points, resulting in people failing to access fertiliser or walking long distances to source the commodity.

Malawi Agriculture Policy Advancement Agenda (Mwapata) executive director William Chadza feared that delays in delivery of inputs might have seen some farmers planting low quality seed and some planting recycled seed which will in turn affect yield.

He added that late application of fertiliser will also affect yield.

“If fertiliser stocks are not adequate and there are delays in deliveries when maize has grown fast, such challenges will have an impact on the effectiveness of fertiliser,” said Chadza.

When contacted yesterday, Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale asked for more time to respond to a questionnaire.

However, he earlier posted on his Facebook page that Malawi Defence Force was engaged to help with delivery of fertiliser, adding that more vehicles have been identified to help in transportation, adding that its flow to selling points has improved.

Government is targeting to reach 2.5 million farmers with fertiliser and seed. The responsibility of selling fertiliser has been left to SFFRFM only despite that it does not have selling points in many areas. n