Agriculture Minister Assures Farmers of Availability of AIP Fertilizers in Mobile Depots in Mzimba District

Malawi: Agriculture Minister Sam Dalitso Kawale has assured farmers participating in the Affordable Input Program in Mzimba that fertilizers will soon be available in mobile depots to reduce congestion at established selling points in the district, writes Blessings Gondwe.

Speaking on Saturday during a tour of the Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi selling point at Mzimba boma, Kawale stated that his ministry has increased the number of smartphones for sellers in the Extension Planning Areas and improved network capacity to speed up the redeeming process.

He urged farmers to keep records of the dates they are supposed to visit a selling point to avoid unnecessary crowds.

"Every village has its own date of coming to the selling point. But it has been observed that others come on dates that are not their turn, which leads to long queues. Please let's understand what the village heads say about the timetable to have sanity," Kawale said.

One of the AIP beneficiaries, Agness Nyirenda from Kazomba, said the introduction of AIP mobile markets will allow beneficiaries to access the commodity in their localities, reducing transportation costs to their homes.