By Vincent Gunde
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-President Lazarus Chakwera on Saturday, November 19, 2022 conceded that the 2022/23 farming season Affordable Input Programme (AIP) faced fertilizer sabotage by the suppliers and incompetence by some public officials who do not want the programme to roll out to farmers.
The Tonse Alliance government has come under heavy criticism by many Malawians for delaying to roll out AIP which analysts have expressed fears that the inputs may not reach the farmers in time as the rains have already started in many parts of the country.
With closure of ADMARC’s most selling points, Government has banked all of its trust in Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) in the selling of fertilizer which is now at MK15,000 for a 50 Kilogram bag from the previous MK4,495.
Speaking when he launched the programme at Maonde primary school at Senior Chief Kachere in Dedza district on Saturday, President Chakwera called upon the beneficiaries to utilize the farm inputs wisely in order to achieve food security at household level and in a bid to end hunger and reduction of poverty in the country.
Chakwera said it is sad that other people did not want the programme to take its shape because Government abandon the use of middlemen (vendors) to buy the fertilizer and it is buying straight from the manufacturers.
“We have fought battles against incompetence, the incompetence of those officials who failed to get this programme ready within the timeframe they were given,” he said.
Meanwhile, social media analyst Samuel Lwara has praised President Chakwera for accepting shortfalls and anomalies in the preparations of AIP saying Malawians were wondering how this happened when all the security agencies were there.
Writing on his face book page, Lwara says Chakwera talked about people who don’t learn from others when constructively accused or blamed for the wrongdoings they see in government but sadly, some media teams always will fight such people.
“I am happy that the National Intelligence Service [NIS] will be in full view of AIP distribution process for the first time, hope it has gathered more capacities from the day I disowned it,” reads Lwara’s writings on the wall.
About 2.5 million Malawians are expected to benefit from 2022/2023 AIP program.