The Ministry of Agriculture says fertilizer stocks for group farmers remain stable across Malawi, with over 273,000 bags already sold through the Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM).

Principal Secretary in the Ministry, Dixie Kampani, said on Thursday that SFFRFM continues to receive fertilizer consignments from Zambia on a daily basis.

“SFFRFM continues to receive daily consignments from its Zambian supplier, a move aimed at sustaining supplies and addressing potential shortfalls,” said Kampani.

He also disclosed that SFFRFM is currently running 230 shops nationwide to ensure access to the inputs.

“Out of these, 38 shops are in the Northern Region, 123 in the Central Region, and 68 in the Southern Region. All depots have been supplied, and sales are ongoing,” Kampani explained.

Kampani added that the Fund has put in place an efficient inventory management system to restock outlets promptly.

“We are using reserves from regional warehouses to make sure shops are restocked in case of shortages,” he said.

However, agriculture commentator Gresham Kamnyamata noted that some areas are already facing supply gaps.

“While this is a good initiative, some shops in the Central Region have no stocks. There is a need for close monitoring so that farmers are not disadvantaged,” Kamnyamata said.

It is now three weeks since the government rolled out fertilizer sales to group farmers at K90,000 per 50kg bag. Meanwhile, authorities have confirmed that this year’s Affordable Inputs Program (AIP) will be launched on October 1.