BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The National Advocacy Platform (NAP) has issued a blistering statement accusing government agencies and political actors of entrenched corruption, manipulation and gross negligence in three of Malawi’s biggest agricultural programmes.
The sector programs are the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), the Maize Distribution Programme and the Mega Farms Initiative.
The statement signed by NAP Chairperson Benedicto Kondowe and National Coordinator Baxton Nkhoma released on Tuesday,follows a shocking revelation by Minister of Agriculture Roza Fatch Mbilizi in Parliament on 10 November, outlining how billions of kwacha intended to boost food security have been lost to political interference, mismanagement and fraud.
NAP describes the situation as “a crisis of integrity, accountability and justice,” warning that Malawi’s food security has been compromised not by droughts or bad luck but by human greed and deliberate policy failures.
In the case of FISP, NAP says the programme has been “betrayed” by political actors who used proxies and vendors to divert subsidised inputs for resale, leaving real farmers stranded.
Only K2 billion out of the K6 billion disbursed has been recovered, while fertilizer was allegedly used for political price manipulation through institutions like NEEF during campaign periods.
NAP wants Parliament to disclose all contracts, suppliers, payments and beneficiaries dating back to 2023.
The platform also blasted the government’s maize distribution strategy, calling the current hunger crisis a man-made disaster.
According to the Minister’s report, over 2.7 million Malawians are facing hunger while the national food security plan remains underfunded by K148 billion.
NAP says the neglect of ADMARC and NFRA, which were left without funding to purchase maize, reflects reckless governance that has pushed citizens toward starvation. They are demanding a full audit of ADMARC, NFRA and DoDMA for the past two years.
On the Mega Farms Programme, NAP says the initiative has produced “more excuses than maize,” with farmers delivering only 88,000 metric tons against the projected 220,000. Some recipients of loans and vouchers were not even farmers but vendors exploiting the system.
No repayments were made to MAIIC despite crops being sold privately and NAP now wants beneficiary lists, acreage details, loan records and performance data published.
NAP is calling for sweeping reforms, including prosecution of all public officers and politicians involved, forensic audits of all agriculture programmes, recovery of stolen funds and quarterly transparency updates on beneficiaries and disbursements. They also want Parliament to launch a full inquiry into agricultural subsidies involving key institutions such as SFFRFM, ADMARC, MAIIC, and the Ministry of Finance.
The advocacy group says the country needs a “National Integrity Pact for Agriculture” to rebuild trust and ensure that future subsidies and investments actually reach farmers instead of being siphoned off by elites.
“Every kwacha meant for farmers should translate into productivity, dignity, and hope,” reads part of the statement.
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