… Over 1,800 farmers already registered.
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – The MInistry of Agriculture’s Farming Input Subsidy Programme is open for registrations!
This was revealed by Principal Secretary in the Ministry, Phesheya Dube, when speaking to the media about the operations and timelines of the programme this year.
“In the subsidy program, the money which is needed to grow maize is E11,400. So, because the Government forks out 50% and the farmer also contributes 50%, the total contribution from the farmer is E5,700,” said the PS.
“We want to reiterate to the nation that their work is good, and we can see that things are going well, as people are contacting us and coming to find out what else the Ministry can assist them with,” said the Principal Secretary.
He went on to explain that there are three crops which are covered by the Input Subsidy Programme; maize, beans, and sorghum. He revealed that there seems to be the most interest in growing maize, as there have been over 1,849 farmers who have signed up to grow maize with the help of the inputs subsidy programme.
“As we continue with the registration at this rate, it is possible that we will be oversubscribed by the time that the deadline comes around. As such, when the Government contribution runs out, we will stop registration to the programme,” said the PS.
“As we have been doing this programme, we have partners who supply the farming inputs like seedlings and fertilisers, we call them Agro-dealers. We consult with them before the start of the programme to confirm which stores are operational and available to serve the public. Following their confirmation of operational stores, we form a contract with them, following which the public can begin procuring farming inputs from them,” elucidated the PS.
He added that they did this to make sure that every farmer has access to a nearby store for their inputs, without the need to travel long distances.
“In our recent meeting, we agreed with the Agrodealers that they should begin disbursing farming inputs. We are yet to analyse and table a brief report as to how it is going with those who have already begun, to make sure that we address any challenges which may be there in the process,” said the PS.
“It is important that we follow-through in an orderly manner. What we did was to make sure that each RDA office has a unique number which will be used for payments. We worked with MTN to avail these numbers, to make it easer for the public to make payments using their mobiles,” revealed the PS.
He added that they were working to make sure that any challenges surrounding payments are resolved by today.
“We encourage farming still, it does not matter that we have heard that there might be a drought this year. We are aware of the potential drought, and what we can note is that this is the first year of El Nino. What will likely happen is that there will be rains, but they will be decreased from what we are used to. Nonetheless, we urge farmers to farm to ensure that they properly store this year’s harvest, just in case the situation is more difficult in the next year,” said the PS.
Dube further encouraged Emaswati to make sure that there is no wastage of harvest due to poor storage and other sub-standard agricultural practises.
