By Stanley Nkhondoyachepa

Lilongwe, January 23, Mana: Minister of Information and Digitalization Moses Kunkuyu has said the government, through the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF), is giving fertilizer loans to farmers without considering their political affiliations.

He said this on Wednesday at Lizulu in Ntcheu and Balaka, when NEEF awarded fertilizer loans to farmers who successfully applied for them.

Kunkuyu who is also government spokesperson said any person who is a farmer and has farmland is eligible to apply and get the loan.

He said the distribution of fertilizer to farmers across the country fulfils the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) government pledge made during the campaign period.

“It is the wish of the president that this programme be non-partisan, that it should distribute inputs and loans regardless of tribal regional and political affiliations,” he said.

The minister hailed the impact the programme is making since its inception last year where over 11,000 farmers benefited.

He expressed hope that with the increase in the budget and number of beneficiaries this year, more households will attain food sufficiency, consequently alleviating hunger.

However, the minister challenged the beneficiaries to use the fertilizer in their farms and should not sell it.

He also urged them to repay the loans on time so that more farmers could benefit from the initiative in the subsequent years.

In his remarks, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Benedicto Chambo urged NEEF to find ways of helping farmers venture into agro-processing so that their farm produce can add value.

Speaking earlier, Ikosi ya Makosi Gomani V hailed the NEEF input loan initiative describing it as a much better solution to end hunger.

He encouraged his subjects to repay the loan in time so that they could have a chance to borrow more and that others should also benefit from the initiative.

Precious Musicha of Traditional Authority Sawali in Balaka thanked the government for the input loan, saying it would help farmers harvest more.

He however appealed NEEF to make timely distribution of fertilizer next year, observing late distribution negatively affects crop yield.

Currently, NEEF has reached out to over 35,000 people with over K35 billion worth of cash and fertilizer distributed to beneficiaries across the country, according to NEEF Chief Executive Officer, Humphrey Mdyetseni.