Rumphi chapter of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has cancelled demonstrations against poor management of the Affordable Input Programme (AIP) after a meeting with government officials.
Malawi Government through ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday sent delegates to Rumphi HRDC offices to discuss the grouping’s concerns over AIP.
According to Moir Walita, HRDC North vice chairperson, the Ministry of Agriculture will resolve the concerns of communities in Rumphi.
“From Wednesday they are revisiting their system starting with meeting the people left out in the program and considerations will be made after verifications.
“They are bringing an additional list of beneficiaries, therefore the demos have been put on hold to observe the government response to our demands,” Walita.
In his comment, Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson Gracian Lungu said the meeting was one way of engaging the citizens on how Affordable Inputs Program can be implemented smoothly.
“The officials who have gone there have been sent to understand issues that made HRDC to bring their concerns to the ministry. Once the team is back, the ministry will look as the issues raised and make a decision on next step to take, so because now the investigations are yet to be on Minister’s table for a decision, an appropriate conclusion will be shared as soon as the Minister and the AIP coordinating team gets the investigation results,” he said.
Rumphi HRDC planned to hold demonstrations on Wednesday 10th November after general out cry from the community that many families had been left out in the 2020-2021 farming year.
