By Deborah Madeya:
Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale has said 87.4 percent of the 1.5 million Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) beneficiaries have accessed inputs.
He attributed the development to government’s steadfastness in addressing problems that have been flagged by beneficiaries.
Kawale cited the arrest of vendors who attempted to buy fertiliser illegally as a manifestation of quick action taken on issues raised.
“Right now, there are over 70 court cases involving those who were involved in the illegal purchase of fertiliser,” he said.
- Advertisement -
Kawale was optimistic that the remaining 12.6 percent would be reached in due course.
“We delivered fertiliser to hard-to-reach areas first and we will continue distributing fertiliser until everyone eligible has benefitted.
“There are some points where we over-delivered and, so, the ministry is planning to shift that fertiliser to other places we have not reached yet,” Kawale said.
Out of the 1.5 million beneficiaries, 1,490,000 are accessing fertiliser while the remaining 10,000 are accessing goats.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
Meanwhile, agricultural policy expert Ronald Chilumpha has said there is a need for the government to implement the reformed AIP.
“Last year, government talked about a reformed AIP but we haven’t seen much of that in this season.
“We want to see a diversified AIP; one that looks beyond farming. There are some areas that do not do well with maize, such that there is a need for them to be given an opportunity to grow other types of crops,” Chilumpha said.
He added that the government should consider graduating from AIP and direct the money to other aspects of agriculture, including agriculture research and infrastructure development, for the country to achieve food security.
“The money we are putting into AIP can be directed to irrigation schemes. As you know, the country lags behind, in terms of irrigation farming.
“During seasons like this one, when the weather is unpredictable, irrigation can help the country meet its food security goals,” Chilumpha said.
