Malawi Fertiliser Company (MFC) through its Liwonde Fertiliser Terminal has intensified the blending of fertilisers which will be distributed across the country under the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP).
In an interview with MBC Online, the General Manager of MFC, Chris Keen, said currently the plant is running at optimum capacity and the fertiliser blending is going on well as planned.
“Let me assure the nation that we are working to meet the aspirations of Malawians. In a day, we are blending and packing over 20,000 bags of fertiliser all things being equal I can confidently say we are on track,” said Keen.
Minister of Agriculture, Sam Kawale said Government is fully geared to ensure smooth implementation of the 2022/23 farming season.
“Malawi fertiliser company has demonstrated that it can deliver the required output on time. Here at Liwonde Fertiliser Terminal and its sub-office in Blantyre they are blending and packing close to 28,000 bags on daily basis. This fertiliser is being transported by trucks to designated selling points every day,” said Kawale.
Commenting on the development, the Chairperson of the AIP Taskforce, Richard Chimwendo Banda, clarified that the Morrocan Government donated 10000 metric tonnes of fertiliser not 52,000 metric tonnes as erroneously reported elsewhere.
“This year the Ministry of Agriculture has included a mechanism of mobile vending apart from the physical markets that we have. We are going to use ADMARC and the Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) structures. Our target is to reach the citizenry even in hard-to-reach areas so that they don’t walk long distances and we don’t want to see our people sleeping at fertiliser selling points,” said Chimwendo Banda.
In this year’s National Budget, Government allocated K109 billion of which K97.5 billion is for fertilisers. Kawale highlighted that the Russia-Ukraine War coupled with the devaluation of the Kwacha by 25 percent meant that government should find other means to ensure that 2.5 million farmers get fertiliser at an affordable price.
