Malawi: Registration Fees, Shrinking Lists and No Fertiliser - Mwanza Farmers Seek Accountability

What the report says

Farmers in Mwanza district, Malawi, are questioning delays in a subsidised fertiliser and seed programme that was promised during the election campaign and was expected to support thousands of households at the start of the planting season. According to the report from Nyasa Times, residents say they paid a K1,000 registration fee after the election but, more than a year later, many still have not received the inputs or a clear explanation of how the money was handled.

The article says local beneficiaries also complained that the programme’s lists were repeatedly reduced, first to about half of applicants and later to roughly 20 per cent. Some farmers said they were told to share coupons among several households or rely partly on organic manure, while others said they were asked to contribute transport costs for deliveries that had not arrived by 8 November.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development said the national rollout was moving in phases. Principal Secretary Erica Maganga said fertiliser had been dispatched nationwide and that remaining districts were due to receive consignments in early November. She also said certified maize seed was expected to be available from 9 November and that district offices had been told to give farmers timely updates.

Maganga said the ministry had identified irregularities in some areas and taken corrective action, including replacing responsible personnel where needed. For Mwanza farmers, however, the key issues remain why fees were collected, why beneficiary lists were cut back, and why promised inputs have not arrived as rains begin and planting gets under way.