Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Roza Mbilizi has pledged that the government will fast-track delivery of farm inputs under this year’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp).
Speaking yesterday at Kankhande Primary School in Mchinji during the launch of the programme, she urged law enforcement agencies to crack down on middlemen who buy subsidised inputs on behalf of beneficiaries and sell them for personal gain.
Mbilizi said over 30 000 metric tonnes (MT) of farm inputs procured from Zambia are already in the country and being distributed in all districts.
“The funds used in the programme belong to Malawians and no one should attempt to scam anyone,” she said.
Mbilizi said so far government will distribute NPK and Urea fertilisers, emphasising that the rest of the fertiliser is already at Mwami Border waiting to be cleared.
“Government has already held fruitful discussions with seed traders which have 10 000MT in stock of certified seed and since procured 5 000 metric tonnes of seeds,” she said.
Mbilizi implored Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) sales clerks in all 600 selling outlets nationwide to desist from extorting money from farmers, saying the law will catch up with those engaging in the malpractice.
“I would like to urge farmers to use the inputs responsibly so as to improve their livelihoods and alleviate hunger,” she said.
“In Mwanza and Salima, 1 800 farmers will be given goats under the pass-on programme.”
Asked to disclose the cost of this year’s Fisp, Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson Arnold Namanja said the immediate-past regime planned to reach out to 528 020 beneficiaries through the Affordable Inputs programme budgeted at K111.45 billion.
“However, the new administration has increased the number of beneficiaries to 1.1 million, which has necessitated an increase in the funding.
“The Minister of Finance will factor this into his Mid-year Budget Review Statement. The approved budget in March 2025 was cut to K111.45 billion of which K102.0 billion was for purchase of fertilisers, K4 billion for seed, K0.45 billion for livestock and K5 billion for operations,” he said.
Agriculture expert Leonard Chimwaza urged government to expedite delivery of the farm inputs, noting delays caused by the September 16 General Election and policy shifts between the previous and current administration.
However, he hopes that going forward there will be an improvement in terms of planning and implementation.
Said Chimwaza: “On the timing factor, we are a bit late and rains are already here a week now, meaning farmers are planting recycled seeds.”
Farmers Union of Malawi president Maness Nkhata appealed to stakeholders to monitor the standard kilogrammes of the fertiliser bags and ensure that the inputs are sold at the government set price of K10 000 per bag.
She reiterated her organisation’s commitment to ensuring that fake and substandard fertilisers are gotten rid of on the market and appealed to authorities to complement the effort.
Mchinji South legislator Owen Malijani (independent) urged government to increase the number of beneficiaries, particularly in food basket districts, to help support areas prone to disasters.
He also called for mechanisms to harvest rainwater as part of broader efforts to boost agricultural productivity.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the 2025-2026 Fisp have welcomed the introduction of a new redemption App and a centralised database, saying the upgraded system will make the process of redeeming farm inputs faster and more efficient than in previous years.
According to SFFRFM, farmers will access inputs through 600 outlets nationwide, up from 494 last farming season, with mobile vending units deployed to reach remote communities.
The ministry said each farmer will be provided with 5 kilogrammes (kg) of seeds and two 50kg bags of NPK and Urea fertilisers.
—Additional Reporting McDonald Bamusi, Staff Writer
