Malawi government is to blame for the current chaos that has marred the 2016/2017 Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp) because, among others, the “bogus” companies that were contracted to supply fertiliser are not on the ground for the task.
According to the 2016/17 Farm Input Subsidy Programme Sixteenth Situation Report dated December 20 2016 from Logistics Unit, a meeting for fertiliser selling companies asked Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) to list the companies that are not on the ground selling fertiliser.
“At a meeting with the fertiliser companies on 14th December, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development asked SFFRFM to identify those companies still not on the ground on the understanding that those not operating to be removed from the project. The outcome of this exercise is awaited,” reads the report in part.
It adds: “Logistics Unit has requested all companies trading in fertiliser vouchers to indicate the location of their sales points by EPA [Extension Planning Area] in their allocated districts. To date only ATC, Worldwide, Farmers World, Agora, MFC and Optichem have made returns. Returns on proposed selling points are requested from the remaining 21 companies.”
According to the report, two companies are supposed to supply fertiliser in Nsanje but only one is on the ground; Chikwawa has five companies but only three are on the ground; in Neno only three out of five are on the ground while in Mwanza only one out of the two and Mulanje out of nine companies only two are on the ground.
Only two companies out of six are on the ground in Phalombe while three out of seven in Thyolo and only one out of six in Blantyre are selling fertiliser and for Chiradzulu, only four out of seven are on the ground. Zomba has a list of nine companies but only two are selling fertiliser while Machinga only one company out of seven is on the ground and only three out of nine are available in Mangochi.
Only two of the six companies are supplying in Balaka while two of the eight in Ntcheu are on the ground and three of eight in Dedza are also on the ground and only three out of nine are on the ground in Lilongwe. Mchinji has a list of five companies but only two are on the ground while Dowa has eight on the list but four are on the ground. Ntchisi has six but only one is selling fertiliser. Kasungu only three companies out of nine are on the ground.
Only three out of six are on the ground in Salima while three out of five are available in Nkhotakota and four of the six in Mzimba are available and only two of the four are available in Nkhata Bay and the only one in Likoma is not on the ground and only two out of four in Rumphi and another two out of four in Karonga and only one out of two in Chitipa are on the ground.
Fertiliser Association of Malawi Chairperson Jimmy Giannakis said in an interview yesterday that of the 27 awarded companies, more than half are not on the ground to sell fertiliser as some of them are not in fertiliser business.
“How were such companies awarded?” He questioned.
But he said all members of his association that were awarded are on the ground.
According to the report, Fisp has a lot of gaps. As of December 20 2016, government was yet to provide SFFRFM with funding to meet fertiliser voucher invoices to the tune of K1, 483, 170, 000
Consultants forwarded flawed productive farmers’ lists for Dowa and Rumphi to Logistics on December 17 2016. According to the report, attempts by all parties to clean the lists were only partially successful.
SFFRFM Chief Executive Officer, Andy Kalinde, said yesterday that based on submission of coupons there are only 12 companies that have submitted coupons to Logistics Unit.
Kalinde said out of the 27 companies that were contracted to supply fertiliser 20 can be said to be active.
He added: “But six companies are completely out.”
He also said Admarc has not yet picked up in terms of supplying fertiliser. He said in two weeks real fertiliser companies will be known.
Fisp Deputy National Coordinator, Osborne Tsoka, said it is too early to judge the companies but he admitted that some companies are not on the ground forcing government to lift the supply restriction. This means that any company is now allowed to supply to any district.
Tsoka also admitted that only 12 companies have submitted their coupons to the Logistics Unit.
He also said Admarc has not been impressive because out of the required 18000 metric tonnes of fertiliser to retail it has only managed to do so with 2 300 metric tonnes.
Tsoka said some companies that are supplying are not members of the Fertiliser Association of Malawi.
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