Maravi

Government to pilot electronic voucher system for maize purchase

Government to pilot electronic voucher system for maize purchase
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Mon 12 Mar. 2012, 12:00 CAT

THE government is next farming season expected to pilot the electronic voucher system in distribution of inputs and purchase of maize to ensure the programme reaches the intended peasant farmers in rural areas.

The Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) was designed to improve the country's food security with an emphasis on household level. The programme is also an initiative by the government to inject money into rural areas to make a dent on high poverty levels in the countryside.

"We are focusing on redesigning the Farmer Input Support Programme to deal with issues that have taken away its efficacy," agriculture minister Emmanuel Chenda said in an interview.

"The programme was intended for the poor but clearly it shows the majority of benefits are not the intended persons. It has been hijacked by emerging farmers, commercial farmers, civil servant and traders."

Chenda said the electronic voucher system would be piloted in Chongwe, Chibombo and Mumbwa with a view to extending it to the rest of the country next year.

"We have no choice; it's non-negotiable. We must redesign this programme so that it can reach the intended persons who are the vulnerable in the rural areas," Chenda said.

"How is is that poverty is not reducing in rural areas? The answer is simple - because the Farmer Input Support Programme which is supposed to help alleviate poverty in rural areas has been stolen by these unscrupulous persons. We are going to use electronic vulture system to see how it is going to work to promote the principle of diversification, also cut away the middle persons and help to rid the FISP of corruption in line with the PF government's stance on zero tolerance against corruption."

Chenda, who last Thursday inspected conservation farming programmes in Chibombo area, said the government wanted to explore methods of improving productivity of maize and other crops in the country.

He said the biggest challenges for the country was the issue of productivity as most people engaged in agriculture were using old traditional practices.

Chenda said the recent surge in maize output in the country was a result of increased application of chemical fertilisers.

FISP every year overshoots planned expenditure and severely haemorrhages the country's coffers with last year's maize purchases having reached over K2.3 trillion.

"We should work with conservation units so that as many farmers, especially at peasant levels - people who are struggling to grow a bit of surplus, if they went and adopted this conservation method, they will be food secure and be able to grow much more than they have been doing in the past," said Chenda.

"We should step up the level of participation because this is the way we are going to go. If productivity is going to go up, it means farmers will have higher return on their effort."

Labels: FISP, MAIZE, MARKETS

posted by MrK @ 5:32 PM