By Greyson Masewe

The Ministry of Agriculture led by Sam Kawale MP has recently come under fire from the public, political experts and agriculture specialists for failing to adequately deliver on the infamous AIP and Mega farms. Hunger has continued to loom deep in the rural and peri-urban settlements over the past 18 months while Government continues to spend billions on agriculture.

Political commentators have sided with Kawale highlighting the key challenges that require in-depth Public Sector reforms and overhauls. Some of the challenges posed are the slow Government machinery while others have cited sabotage by affiliates of the fallen DPP regime.

Investigation by our reporter indicates that Ministry of Agriculture seems to perform below expectations while it is one of the most highly funded and considered flagship carrier for Chakwera’s adminstration. Many people have complained why projects and programs under Ministry of Agriculture and other ministries are always delaying. Here is what Minister for Agriculture Sam Kawale MP said:

“I would like to thank everyone who has expressed their frustrations on this. Your feedback is important, and I appreciate the opportunity to clarify how your ministry of Agriculture operates within the broader government framework in the context of fertilizer and maize. Kawale sought to clarify the stages and steps so that Malawians understand how much his Ministry struggles with the bureaucracy in a bid to deliver the best for Malawians.”

Kawale further outlines the steps towards finding of his Ministry and clarifies what transpires under planning state.

“The planning stage is done before the budget is passed. Submission and passing of the budget means planning stages have been considered.”

“On procurement of maize and fertilizer which starts immediately after the budget is passed, the process is done through tenders as well as walk in deliveries depending on the product.”

Kawale has also bemoaned dependency on untimely funding as a major setback for the Ministry. “The Ministry of Agriculture, like all government institutions, relies on the Treasury (Ministry of Finance) to release funds for programs such as the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) and ADMARC maize procurement.” Here’s how the process works: he said.

“On Budget is approval, Parliament allocates funds to ministries during the national budget process. However, this must lead to Funding. Under Funding this is when Treasury says they’ve “funded” a program, it means the money is earmarked for that purpose, not actually giving the Ministry money, but instyructing Accountant General to fund the Ministry once money is available.”

The next step is Disbursement: This refers to the actual transfer of funds fryom Accountant General to our ministry’s accounts. Delays in disbursement directly affect our ability to procure fertilizers, open ADMARC depots, or purchase maize on schedule. 

Kawale also cautioned that it is important to note that, “When passing the Budget, it doesn’t mean that money allocated to Ministries is readily available. No. Treasury collects money on a daily basis from several sources. Once the money is collected, they fund and disburse to Ministries.”

Timing is another challenge faced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Kawale bemoaned.

“If funds are released early, we can pay for fertilizers immediately and procure maize during harvest time when prices are lower, and farmers have produce to sell. 

If disbursements are delayed, we are forced to implement programs late, which disrupts markets and leaves farmers vulnerable to vendors, in case of maize, and late delivery of fertilizer

If funds are not released at all, critical programs stall entirely. 

On DMARC and Minimum Pricing Kawale said his Ministry shares the people’s frustration about ADMARC’s delayed maize purchases. “Our goal is to open deports immediately after harvest to protect farmers’ incomes. We managed to do that last year. However, without timely disbursements, ADMARC cannot mobilize resources in time.”

On pricing, minimum farmgate prices Kawale suggested that the aim is to shield farmers from exploitation, but we’re mindful of balancing affordability for consumers. 

Fertilizer Procurement is another critical component that has suffered useless bureaucracy leading to poor AIP.  Kawale argues that the same funding challenges affect the AIP. Late disbursements delay fertilizer deliveries, impacting planting seasons. We’re advocating for earlier releases to align procurement with farmers’ needs. The disbursements are both Malawi Kwacha and USD since imports are paid in Forex.

The Minister however said his Ministry is committed to improving these processes and will continue engaging Treasury to prioritize timely funding.

“Please know that our team works tirelessly within the constraints we face, and we’re open to further suggestions to strengthen Malawi’s agricultural systems.

So when you notice that a certain Ministry is not implementing a certain program on time, just know that the above reasons are some of the factors.”

For many Agriculture experts and those wondering why Malawi still faces hunger when generally the rains are good in most parts of the country, and there are plenty rivers and lakes bursting with fresh water year round, they argue the major problem is useless Government bureaucracy and sabotage, hindering growth and development.