Legislator proposes fixation of fertilizer prices

Calls are emerging for the authorities to fix the price of fertiliser so as to allow farmers to access it freely.

Despite the repeated allocation of billions of kwacha, the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) continues to miss the mark as a lot of targeted beneficiaries fail to access the inputs year-in-year-out.

In his State of the Nation Address on Friday President Chakwera revealed plans to review the program.

He admitted that the program which was supposed to protect the most vulnerable Malawians from food insecurity was not beneficial due to administrative challenges it faced.

‘’I announce my intention to redesign the AIP to make it more targeted and efficient in the upcoming fiscal year, this is because after three years of implementation it has become evident that the program faces a number of challenges including ineffective targeting of beneficiaries, high cost of farm inputs and delayed procurement,” stated Chakwera.

He was quick to point out that despite the challenges, it has achieved the redemption rate of 73.74 %.

The development has since prompted critics to propose abandonment of the programme while making fertiliser affordable to all Malawians.

United Democratic Front (UDF) legislator for Zomba Ntonya, Ned Poya has proposed fixation of the price.

“The price should just be fixed because currently a 50 kilogram bag of fertilizer is being sold in the ranges of 60 to 80 thousand kwacha, how many people can afford that,’’ Poya said.

He stresses that if the price of fertilizer is fixed there will be no need for the AIP which is currently used to siphon public funds.

‘’Through the AIP, funds continue to be embezzled hence fixing the price of fertilizer to be accessed by every farmer is the way to go,’’ the legislator added.

In the 2022/23 national budget, AIP was allocated 109.5 billion kwacha.

The Current AIP has been strained owing to global price hikes in farm inputs, especially fertilizer induced by the Russo-Ukraine War.