Malawi to Support 1.5 Million Farmers with Affordable Inputs
The AIP is a government program that provides subsidized fertilizer and seeds to smallholder farmers in Malawi.
LILONGWE, Malawi - The Malawian government will support 1.5 million farmers with affordable inputs during the 2023/24 farming season, Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale said Tuesday, writes Bridgette Mwanoka.
Kawale made the announcement during a press briefing in Lilongwe, where he also emphasized that the government has maintained the price of a 50-kilogram bag of fertilizer at K15,000 under the Affordable Inputs Program (AIP).
The minister said the Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) has fertilizer which is readily available and will be selling to beneficiaries using their own shops, ADMARC markets that are in usable form, and community structures that will be offered for use.
He further said that 378 hub shops have been identified and will act as hub or nucleus markets to mobile van sales within the constituency.
"The Government has already distributed Fertilizer in Dowa, Nkhotakota, Kasungu, Dedza, Chitipa, Karonga and Mangochi among other districts and will also support about 435,000 farming households under Climate Smart Public works with financial support from the World Bank, and 291,000 farming households will be given cash under social cash transfer program (SCTP) while the commercial oriented households will be supported under AGCOM programs and MeGa Farms," the minister elaborated.
The AIP is a government program that provides subsidized fertilizer and seeds to smallholder farmers in Malawi.
The program was launched in 2020 to help farmers reduce their input costs and increase their agricultural productivity.
The AIP is one of the key programs of the Malawian government to achieve food security and reduce poverty.
The program has been credited with helping to increase Malawi's maize production in recent years.