To increase resource poor smallholder farmer’s access to improved agricultural farm inputs.

Objective of the Programme

 To achieve food self sufficiency and increased income of resource poor households through increased maize and legume production.

• Programme Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries of the 2018/2019 Farm Input Subsidy Programme will be fulltime smallholder Malawian farmers that are resource poor of all gender categories except in Dowa, Rumphi, Salima and Mwanza districts where productive small holder farmers will be targeted. The fertilizer package is expected to benefit a total of One Million (1,000,000) farmers. In addition, these farmers will also benefit from hybrid or OPV maize or improved sorghum seed or rice seed based on farmer’s choice and legume seed.

• Farm Inputs Package
• A total of 100,000 metric tones of maize fertilizer (50,000 metric tones of NPK and 50,000 metric tones of Urea) will be subsidized this season. In addition to the fertilizer, the Government will also subsidize a maximum of 5,000 metric tones of improved maize seed, 90 metric tones of improved sorghum seed, 90 metric tones of rice seed and a maximum of 2000 metric tones of legumes (groundnuts, beans, soybeans and pigeon peas).
• Subsidized fertilizers
• UREA (50kg)
• 23:10:5+6S+1.0Zn (50kg)
• The government has fixed the value of each fertilizer coupon at fifteen thousand Malawi Kwacha (MK15,000.00). A beneficiary will be expected to pay the difference of the coupon value and market price of a fifty (50) Kilograms fertilizer bag. For example if the market price of Urea fertilizer bag is MK18,000.00 and the farmer has a Urea coupon and would like to redeem, he or she will have to give the seller the Urea coupon plus MK3,000.00. Each fertilizer type will have its own coupon with different color marks, security features and district specific serial numbers. A beneficiary will be entitled to a package of one (1) bag of 23:10:5+6S+1.0Zn and one (1) bag of Urea fertilizers for cereal crop.The following seed types are included in the Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme:

• Open Pollinated Varieties maize seed
• Hybrid maize seed
• Improved sorghum seed
• Improved rice seed
• Bean Seed
• Groundnuts seed
• Soya beans seed
• Pigeon peas
• Cowpea seed

Each beneficiary will be entitled to a coupon for purchasing improved maize seed packaged in 5kg packs for either hybrid or OPV or 7 kg packs for improved sorghum seed or Improved rice seed. In addition to improved cereal seed, the beneficiaries will be given coupons for purchasing legume seeds (beans, ground nuts, soya beans, cowpeas and pigeon peas). Beans and groundnuts will be packaged in 1 kg packs while soya beans, pigeon peas and cowpeas will be packaged in 2 kg packs. The seed coupon is fixed at a value of MK6,000.00 per cereal package and MK2,050.00 per legume package. Like in fertilizer, farmers will be required to pay the difference between the pack market value and the coupon value. For example if the farmer has a maize coupon and a 5kg maize seed pack cost MK7,500.00, then the farmer will give the seller a maize coupon plus  MK1,500.00. It is expected that farmers will just be exchanging the legume coupon with legume pack.

To improve efficiency of the programme, farmers will be given an opportunity to select the seed varieties of their preference in line with the agro-ecological zones. Those seed varieties selected by farmers under various demonstrations mounted in their locality.

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