E42 MILLION FOR FOOD SECURITY

MBABANE -  Government has set aside E42.2 million to cater for the input subsidy programme to strengthen food security under the Ministry of Agriculture.

The amount was announced by the Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg, in his Budget Speech where he emphasised on the importance of food security for the country. The Minister said disruptions brought about by COVID-19 and the civil unrest were a rude awakening on food security challenges in the country. He said agriculture was a backbone of the country and government was committed to strengthening food security and upscale food production, to ensure sustainable accessibility and availability.

Production

He further explained that the input subsidy programme had resulted in significant increases in the local production, of maize over the past five years running. “In 2021, a total of 100 042 metric tonnes of maize was produced, marking a significant improvement from 86 000 metric tonnes in 2020, however, this continues to remain below the national requirement of 14 0 000 metric tonnes. The input subsidy programme has gained momentum and demand has been growing on an annual basis. Government aspires to increase the number of beneficiaries from 10 000 to 15 000 over the medium term. Government has set aside E42.2 million to cater for the input subsidy programme,” stated the Minister.

However, the Minister further stated that farmers complained that returns were marginal due to the small plots of land, while more than half of the contoured fields in Eswatini Nation Land in the Highveld were not being utilised. This was despite the fact that there was high rainfall and the area was ideal for maize production. He said government was facilitating the formation of irrigation schemes and construction of scoop dams to support agricultural production across the country. “The high rainfall in this area is another reason Maize is said to grow well, but farmers complain that the returns are marginal due to the small plots of land.

Shareholders

For this reason, the government encourages farmers to group together as shareholders and form farming companies as has been done through ESWADE with many sugar projects, so that they can benefit from the economies of scale of commercial farming. ESWADE and FINCLUDE stand ready to assist in this regard,” he said. The Ministry of Agriculture was allocated E1.36 billion to improve food security and minimise external risks. The Minister added that through the implementation of special programmes, the country now produced and exported approximately 33 675 metric tonnes of fruit and 315 metric tonnes of vegetables in the past year.

Decision

Eswatini National Farmers Union President Lwazi Mamba, stated that the farmers were pleased about government’s decision to fund the input subsidy. He explained that the programme was helpful as it assisted the farmers to ensure that they produced at least half of their final produce and overcome challenges of shortages of farming inputs. “Farming inputs are costly, thus some farmers are not able to produce adequately, but this programme makes it possible for every farmer to produce in quality and quantity. The increase in the overall budget for input subsidy will stimulate production and give stability to food security in the country,” said Mamba. He added that through the programme, there was an increase in the number of farmers which had resulted from the rise on beneficiary. He said not only was the beneficiary numbers rising, but the produce of agriculture products such as beans, sorghum and maize had also recorded an increase.

Mamba further stated that the increase in the budget for input subsidy programme in agriculture was likely to stimulate more agriculture production and strengthen food security in the country. Input subsidy programme is handled by National Maize Co-oporation (NMC) under the Ministry of Agriculture. This assists farmers to attain farming input at cheaper cost, such as tractor hire at E320 per hour, fertilizers and seeds also came at a low price.

Comparison

According to NAMBoard Annual Report 2019/20, a total of 48 864 tonnes of fruits and 575 metric tonnes of vegetables were exported in comparison to 54 855 metric tonnes and 884 metric tonnes vegetables in 2018/19. The report indicated a steady decrease in the produce and exports from 54 855 metric tonnes and 884 metric tonnes recorded in 2018/19 to 48 864 tons of fruits and 575 metric tonnes of vegetables in 2019/20 to 33 675 metric tonnes of fruit and 315 metric tonnes of vegetables in the past year 2020/21. The PEU Report released in September 2021 states that local maize purchases totalled 4.878 metric tonnes, reflecting a significant increase from last quarter’s 837 metric tonnes. The report further said the increase was largely due to the fact that it was the maize collection season. However, beans purchased from locals declined to 35.5 metric tonnes from 93.91 metric tonnes in the same period last year.

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