Hanson Tamfu

In the days ahead, the one million hectares of fertile land along Lake Malawi and the country’s major rivers will be irrigated and cultivated in prepartion for the abundant harvest it will produce.

At the same time, silos are being built across the country to ensure a steady supply of maize throughout the year.

Government is working to ensure the sustainability of Malawi's agricultural subsidy programme. Credit: Charles Mpaka/IPS

Government also aims to find a quicker method for distributing seed, fertiliser, and harvest without the usual delays caused by bureaucratic red tape.

These are just some of the measures the Malawian government is putting in place to make its celebrated farming subsidy programme more effective and sustainable.

David Kamchacha, from the Food Agriculture Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network, himself a Malawian, believes that his country’s farming subsidy programme will continue.

It is known that Malawi was refused donor support by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to continue its farming subsidy programme. This is despite the fact that the programme has been so successful that is it is becoming a case study for agriculture specialists.

The country’s agricultural growth rate has stabilised at seven percent over the past three years. Agriculture has been attributed a whopping 14 percent of the national budget. This is more than Africa’s official endorsement of a 10 percent allocation as contained in the Maputo Declaration.

The transport sector has witnessed an unprecedented boost as produce is locally distribute to Malawi’s markets. The sector grew by 6.4 percent in 2006 mainly due to the successful distribution of seed and crops.

There seems to be a deliberate effort on the part of government and the beneficiaries to maintain the momentum of the farming subsidy programme’s success.