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| National |
| Committee predicts hunger |
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by
Zainah Liwanda, 24 December 2004
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12:10:33
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The parliamentary committee on agriculture has warned that the country risks facing a serious food crisis unless government ensures that fertiliser is available and at a reduced price.
The committee’s chairperson, Vitus Dzoole Mwale said on Thursday in Lilongwe the current shortage of fertiliser in the country may lead to low production and fears this may culminate into another starvation like the one that hit the country in 2001/2002.
Mwale was speaking at a meeting of the committee at Capital Hotel on the draft food and nutrition security policy.
“Targeted Input Programme (Tip) has been going on for more than 10 years, yet the country has still been facing food insecurity. So as a committee we are concerned and fear that the country may face another food crisis like what happened in 2001/2002 and there is no way out but for government to provide cheaper fertiliser to energetic farmers,” said Mwale.
Mwale said the committee will from January conduct public hearings across the country to seek farmer’s views about Tip and what they want government to do about it so that it can table the finding at the next sitting of the National Assembly.
He claimed that the country is currently facing fertiliser shortages because during the budget session, some MPs discussed the motion on reduction of fertiliser price emotionally.
“Some quarters thought the since the idea of reducing fertiliser subsidy came from the opposition was reason enough for them not to support it, forgetting that it was a national issue which would affect each and every Malawian. A nation without food is a dead one,” he added.
Mwale then asked government to provide irrigation equipment to farmers to allow them practise winter cropping, considering that some would buy the fertiliser late.
Secretary for irrigation and food security Joseph Matope, however, dismissed fears of food shortage, saying government has so far distributed over 50 percent of the Tip which he said if properly utilised, there can be enough harvest.
“People should not panic, the only problem was that rains came much earlier this year, but we have so far distributed about 50 percent of the Tip and if properly utilised, the country will have enough harvests,” said Matope.
The objective of the policy among other things is to increase access to agricultural inputs for small holder farmers through safety net programmes by improving the targeting mechanism and ensure participation of all vulnerable smallholder farmers who cannot afford the high costs of inputs.
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