By Alfred Chauwa
Ministry of Agriculture says all is set for this year’s Affordable Input Programme, (AIP) to be rolled out.
Minister responsible Sam Kawale, has highlighted government’s readiness for the AIP in the 2024/25 farming season.
The Minister made the remarks on Monday, during a press briefing at Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi, (SFFRFM) Warehouse at Kanengo in Lilongwe.
Kawale said 1,054,945 smallholder farmers will benefit from the program.
He said beneficiaries will be entitled to buy one 50 kg bag of Urea and one 50 kg of NPK and 5kgs cereal seeds while paying K15,000 for a 50 kg bag of Urea and NPK respecively.
The total amount of fertilizer required for this years program is 104,845 MT of which 102,845 MT is from the carry over stocks.
Currently the Ministry has engaged 19 private suppliers mostly local Malawians to supply fertilizer to government through the Smallholder Farmers Fertilizers Revolving Fund of Malawi warehouses.
Kawale emphasized government’s commitment in supporting commercial oriented households through various initiatives such as Farm Input Loans under National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF), AGCOM 2 funding for large-scale farming, the Mega Farm Support Unit, AGRA’s Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food Agriculture Programme (YEFFAP), and the Sustainable Agriculture Production Programme 2 (SAPP2).
Kawale further said government plan to assist more than two million households with food aid, cash transfers, and grants in the upcoming financial year.
He added that Ministry of Agriculture is transition to digital agriculture to enhance data utilisation and system integration, including the National Agriculture Management Information System with Land Information Management System (NAMIS) and Unified Beneficiary Registrar (UBR) to effectively categorize farmers for targeted interventions.
“Our efforts are concentrated on identifying productive farmers through the NAMIS census and allocating resources centrally, to ensure fair distribution for beneficiaries,” said Kawale.
Kawale said the ministry will also facilitate organic fertilisers and new varieties to enhance soil health and crop production, with ongoing initiatives towards commercialisation for wider accessibility.
On Vulnerable households, Kawale disclosed that Government will support these households who include ; the elderly, chronically sick, and people with disabilities that may prevent them from engaging in farming activities.
He said these households are supported under the Social Cash Transfer Programme, which is managed by the Ministry of Gender, Community Development, and Social Welfare and that about 305,000 households are being supported with an estimated budget of K192 billion.
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