By Cathy Maulidi:
President Lazarus Chakwera Friday launched the Affordable Input Programme (AIP) for the 2023 farming season in Kasungu, stressing that government has no plans of abandoning the programme.
“There were some in this country who said that I should abandon the AIP because it had become too expensive.
“But I have never once considered this an option, because even though it is true that bringing fertilizer from abroad is so much more expensive now than it was three years ago it is not as expensive as the starvation of an entire nation.
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“It is not surprising to me that the people who say that the AIP should be abandoned all have one thing in common; they all have income security and can afford to buy food. But in this country the number of people that have income security and can afford to buy their own food is just less than 5 percent,” Chakwera said.
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According to Chakwera, AIP is not for those who are asking that it should be abandoned but it is for the poor Malawians who need to be supported for them to be food secure.
Chakwera also ordered his Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale to speed up and conclude the supply of the inputs within 40 days.
‘I am directing you, Minister of Agriculture, to ensure that all the farming households that qualify to receive this fertilizer do so within the next 40 days,” Chakwera said.
Additionally, Chakwera has ordered that within that period, the minister should be giving Malawians regular updates on the progress being made in the distribution of the fertilizer across the country.
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“You must also create a platform through which any technical problems that arise in the operation can be reported, resolved, and addressed in an open and transparent manner that builds confidence among Malawians that this programme is being done for their good and not to advance the selfish interests of any person.
“Lastly, if you find any evidence that any public servant tries to engage in corrupt acts from their involvement in this programme, you must inform me immediately so that I can deal with them severely,” he said.
The programme is targeting 1.5 million farmers who will benefit a 50kg bag of UREA and another of NPK.
Kawale said the 149,025 metric tons of fertilizer to be supplied to beneficiaries this year will cost government K102 billion.
“This money is being drawn from the AIP budget. There will also be 6,000mt which will be procured through support from International Fund for Agriculture Development (Ifad) and 5,200mt will be a procurement from a Japanese grant,” Kawale said.
Kawale said some fertilizer is already in the country.
