K470m Fisp fertiliser fail to reach beneficiaries
The Malawi Police Service (MPS) has revealed that a total of 33 000 bags of fertiliser worth at least K470 million (about $1.1m) did not reach intended beneficiaries following the malpractices that rocked the 2012/2013 Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp).
This amount of fertiliser is enough to cater for 16 500 people as each beneficiary is entitled to two bags NPK and Urea.
In a report released following a review process of the programme, MPS says diversion of fertiliser was the top challenge in the subsidy programme which cost taxpayers K55 billion (about $137.5m)
The Ministry of Agriculture has since said this season it has put in place measures to close most of the loopholes.
“Thirty-three thousand [33 000] bags of fertiliser worth K470 100 000 [commercial price] were diverted and sold either by transporters themselves or their workers,” reads the report compiled by the Community Policing Department at Police Headquarters.
The report further revealed that during the year police recorded 198 cases and malpractices associated with the Fisp which it said represents 46.6 percent more than that of 2011/2012 season when a total of 105 cases were recorded.
“During the period, police recovered the following: 3 150 genuine fertiliser coupons either recycled or stolen from the system by officials worth K44 100 000; 512 recycled seeds coupons worth K1 536 000 by agro-dealers; and 4 669 fake coupons for seeds worth K14 007 000,” says the report.
A report from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and Wadonda Consult shows that leakages of the inputs last year led to about 30 percent of it not reaching the intended beneficiaries while at the same time wrong people benefiting from the programme.
In an interview soon after the presentation of the review report, Secretary for Agriculture Jeffrey Luhanga said during the 2013/2014 subsidy season government has put in place a number of measures to ensure that the programme is run smoothly and reach out to the intended beneficiaries.
Some of the measures include choice and thorough scrutiny of suppliers and transporters to ensure that they are honest and have the capacity to execute the job while the actual fertiliser would be tested for quality and efficacy.
