FISP beneficiaries fall by 21,780 in Dowa

The number of beneficiaries under the 2026/27 Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) in Dowa District has fallen by 21,780, from 48,987 last farming season to 27,180 this year.

Briefing the District Executive Committee (DEC) at Dowa Boma, Chief Agricultural Officer for Dowa West Agriculture Office, Matilda Mtambo, said the programme is a government initiative aimed at improving food security and increasing incomes among smallholder farmers through access to affordable farm inputs.

Mtambo said each beneficiary household will receive one 50-kilogramme bag of NPK basal fertilizer, one 50-kilogramme bag of Urea top-dressing fertilizer and 1.5 kilogrammes of certified seed.

She said beneficiaries will contribute K20,000 per 50kg bag of fertilizer and K10,000 for a 5kg pack of certified maize seed.

Mtambo added that beneficiaries will be required to actively participate in the production and use of Mbeya organic fertilizer, with extension workers providing technical guidance on its preparation, management and application.

She said beneficiaries were selected through Farmer Organisations during open forums, where members nominated eligible households based on approved criteria.

“Those who were registered externally but did not belong to the Farmer Organisations were removed and replaced with other people belonging to the same Farmer Organisation,” said Mtambo.

However, she said the registration process faced several challenges, including pressure from local leaders to distribute allocated Farmer Organisation figures to villages, registration of people outside the Farmer Organisation database, ID mismatches and double registration of individuals under two or more Farmer Organisations.

Mtambo said secure coupons would be used to redeem the farm inputs to ensure that only approved beneficiaries access the programme.

Meanwhile, Dowa District Council Director of Planning and Development, Phillimon Maseko, has urged all stakeholders and partners to support the implementation of this year’s FISP to ensure its success in the district.

The 2026/27 FISP was officially launched by Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Roza Mbilizi in Ntchisi on September 24, 2026.