Their crops have already matured and no longer require fertiliser, but 96 farmers in Mzimba have just received their fertiliser under the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP), about two months after the last edition of the initiative ended. SAMUEL KALIMIRA writes.
Mary Mphande, 50, from Kakhuli Village, Traditional Authority (TA) M’mbelwa, in Mzimba District nearly shed tears after receiving her 50-kilogramme (kg) bag of fertiliser from the Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) Thursday.
She will not apply the fertiliser to maize now because the crops have already matured and cannot take up more nutrients.
Farming is her lifeline and fertiliser sustains it but, earlier this year, Mphande was among 96 farmers in Mzimba who were robbed of their inputs under AIP.
“I paid K15,000 for a 50kg bag in February and was told that I would get the fertiliser in two weeks only to receive it today, when my fellow farmers are about to harvest maize to which they applied fertiliser,” Mphande said.
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Her one acre maize field has nothing to show because she did not apply any fertiliser to the crops on it.
Mphande nearly shed tears not because she was happy that she has finally received the inputs, but because the event was a reminder that without maize, her eight-member family would be hit by hunger.
“I am still happy, in a way, that I have received the fertiliser,” she said, weighing options regarding whether she should keep it for the next rain-fed farming season.
The farmers had apparently been duped by sales clerks whose details remain sketchy.
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Frackson Chima from Lota Phiri Village, TA M’mbelwa, was also robbed of money for two 50kg bags of fertiliser from the same SFFRFM clerks at Edingeni selling point in the district.
Chima says the government-financed institution has failed him this season as he does not see himself harvesting anything worthwhile from his two-acre field where he did not apply fertiliser.
“I will try to venture into irrigation farming because I have a small dambo land where that can be possible. That is the convenient option for now because the fertiliser has arrived late,” Chima said.
In the 2023-24 AIP season, government targeted productive farmers, after shifting vulnerable ones and those without adequate pieces of cultivable land to other social support programmes.
The so-called productive farmers, such as the 96 who were duped in Mzimba, were all smiles when they learnt that their names were on the list of beneficiaries.
They expected that after accessing the fertiliser and applying it to their crops, they would harvest enough for their families.
This would be particularly so in the cases of Mphande and Chima whose location has received comparatively good amounts of rainfall at a time other parts have experienced massive flooding and damaging dry spells.
SFFRFM North Business Manager McAdams Mbewe apologised to the farmers, saying the clerks failed to do their job as required.
Mbewe said the State-owned company did not entertain the alleged criminal acts and went ahead to report the matter to police.
“We have given the farmers the fertiliser because we know that our clerks are to blame. When our temporary clerks came to our office after finishing their sales, they balanced the transactions and in our system, all farmers were seen to have redeemed their fertiliser.
“So, we made a decision that all those who kept their receipts to show that they did not get the fertiliser should get it. What is remaining now is police action,” he said.
Northern Region Police spokesperson Maurice Chapola said investigations in the case are at an advanced stage.
Chapola added that the probe is being handled with professionalism and that everyone will “appreciate the resultant action”.
“We are on it and people should be patient because investigations of this nature take time,” Chapola said.
The affected farmers are from Mzimba South and Mzimba South West constituencies.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Mzimba South Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere said people from his area are surprised why the police are taking long to act when reports indicate the suspects had agreed to pay back the money to the farmers.
“I am happy that my people have finally collected their fertiliser. Of course, this is late, but it is better than nothing happening at all. It is my hope that the perpetrators of the chaos will face the law,” Jere said.
On his part, MP for Mzimba South West Raymond Nkhata said AIP needs serious scrutiny to improve its performance in the next growing season.
“The problem is that politics was at play. When I learnt about the issue, I took it to SFFRFM but some people rushed to take it to the media, thereby alerting the suspects and allowing them to escape,” Nkhata said.
