By Benadetta Chiwanda Mia:
Agricultural policy experts and farmers have painted a grim picture of agricultural production next season due to rising costs of fertiliser and seed.
Farmers Union President of Malawi Jacob Nyirongo said the outlook for the 2024-25 season remains mixed, with the potential for subdued output.
He attributes this to high cost of inputs, reduced number of beneficiaries in the Agricultural Inputs Programme and its poor implementation, and the untimely and inconsistent availability of inputs.
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“The cost of inputs has increased significantly from the 2022-23 farming season to the 2024- 25 season. This has pushed more farmers towards using recycled seeds and less effective types of fertilisers,” Nyirongo said.
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Another expert, Felix Jumbe said rising inflation led to an exponential rise in farm input costs, with farmers now requiring about K840,000 for fertiliser alone to cover one hectare of land, up from around K560,000 two years ago.
Civil Society Agriculture Network acting National Director Elizabeth Namaona noted that the weakening Kwacha and high inflation have significantly impacted production costs
“This makes it difficult for smallholder farmers to afford necessary inputs,” Namaona said.
For the 2024- 25 farming season, the government is targeting around 1.1 million Malawian households for the AIP programme. However, the programme faces several challenges, including distribution issues, high corruption rates, late starts, with many farmers still awaiting inputs despite the onset of rains.
