Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dixie Kampani has assured Malawians of a smooth implementation of the 2023/2024 Agriculture Inputs Programme (AIP) saying the Ministry is prepared to carry out its duties regarding the programme.
Kampani made the remarks Tuesday when the Ministry and Smallholder Farmers FertiliSer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) were summoned by the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Irrigation.
Kampani said even the issue of shortages of forex the country is facing will not in any way affect AIP as the local suppliers already have at least 78,000 metric tons of fertiliser in the country.
“Some of the bidders who want to supply the Ministry with fertilisers are local suppliers of which a number of them are willing to receive the money in local currency,” Kampani said.
He emphasised on the possibility of the Ministry receiving a grant of Urea fertiliser worth 5,000 metric tons from the government of Japan within the 2023/2024 growing season.
“As a Ministry we have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Japan which will see them provide us with Urea fertiliser. If this grant reaches us on time, we may as well be in a position to include it in this year AIP,” he expounded.
Ministry of Agriculture AIP Coordinator, Justin Kagona concurred with Kampani saying the Ministry will also take advantage of the carry over fertiliser from last year’s AIP amounting to at least 13 metric tons to efficiently and effectively meet the demand in this year’s AIP.
In a separate interview, Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Irrigation, Sameer Sulemani said the Ministry and SFFRFM seem to be well prepared as they are within the time frame as expected.
“It is good to hear that there were some carry overs from last year which will ensure efficient and effective implementation in this year’s AIP,” he said.
Ministry of Agriculture and SFFRFM are yet to provide the Committee with details underpinning the Romanian deal which according to Kampani is expected to supply fertiliser for the next growing season.
By Prince Justice Banda & Fatsani Mlongoti
