Nasfam, ActionAid propose subsidy multi-year plan
The National Association of Smallholder Farmers in Malawi (Nasfam) and ActionAid Malawi have proposed to government the need for the country to have a multi-year plan for the flagship programme, the Affordable Input Programme (AIP).
According to the two institutions, the proposed plan would include the level of finances needed and a graduating mechanism for first-line beneficiaries.
The organisations made the proposal on Thursday evening when they met the Parliamentary Cluster Committee on Agriculture and Natural resources in Lilongwe and presented their analysis of the 2020/21 Budget for the agricultural sector.
Nasfam, in partnership with ActionAid Malawi, is enhancing oversight capacity for rights-based public resources management in the agriculture sector with funding from Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) through Partnership for Social Accountability (PSA) Alliance in Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania.
Making the presentation, Nasfam head of policy and communication Beatrice Makwenda said it was imperative for the country to adopt a sector-wide roadmap on AIP, which she said would also help to encourage private sector participation as the roadmap or plan would be predictable.
She said: “AIP needs to create more value beyond food. We also suggest that the criteria for selecting targeted beneficiaries should include farmers that make manure as that would help restore soil fertility through increased organic matter content.
“On this one, what we are saying is that in view of reduced soil organic matter, all [AIP] beneficiaries must complement with organic manure which improves soil health.“
In the proposed K1.9 trillion 2021/22 National Budget, agriculture, water development and climate change is the second-priotised sector (now for five consecutive years) with an allocation of K284.4 billion, representing a 20 percent decrease from K354.8 billion in the 2020/21 Budget.
A further breakdown of the budget shows that mainstay agriculture has been allocated 223.5 billion (11 percent of the national budget—same as last financial year) but such a nominal figure is less nine percent from the K245.7 billion allocated in the 2020/21 National Budget, which expires on June 30.
With an allocation of K142 billion, AIP has once again claimed the largest share of the 20201/22 mainstay agriculture budget, representing 64 percent of the budget.
ActionAid Malawi social accountability project manager Wales Chigwenembe said on the sidelines of the meeting that one of the project’s objectives is to enhance effective interactions between the five stakeholder groups in order for the five groups to systemically work together in improving public resource management in Malawi.
