By Leah Malimbasa

Blantyre, 27 November, Mana: Farmers and fertilizer distributors at Lirangwe Trading Centre in Blantyre have said the updated Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) system has helped to curb unscrupulous traders that previously exploited the programme by posing as beneficiaries. 

Speaking to Mana on Wednesday, Sautso Mustafa, a farmer from Chapasuka Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Chigaru in Blantyre, said in the past it was easy for vendors to infiltrate the system, a move that deprived many genuine beneficiaries. 

“The vendors had their ways of buying the subsidized farm inputs using the National Identity Cards (IDs) at the expense of legitimate poor farmers,” she said.

Freen Masiye, who is also a smallholder farmer, agrees with Mustafa that the system is good because it deters misuse.

According to Lirangwe Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) Outlet Sales Officer, Lexa Makina, the new system has simplified their work and increased accountability.  

"We now verify every beneficiary through their details before selling the fertilizer to ensure that the subsidized inputs go to the intended beneficiaries, not vendors," adds Makina. 

Some farmers and distributors also said the AIP’s tighter controls have restored confidence in its ability to support smallholder farmers, but urged authorities to address network glitches that sometimes cause delays in purchasing the fertilizer at some selling points.