Residents of Samson village in the area of Traditional Authority Thomas in Thyolo this morning marched to the office of Thyolo District Commissioner to demand back their money which they paid for the purchase of fertilizer under the Affordable Inputs Program (AIP).
The concerned residents allege that government has failed them and they will not have bumper yields this year as they put trust in the AIP which has collapsed.
According to the residents, they left their homes yesterday and walked on foot in order to reach the council offices. Their village is at the border between Thyolo and Chikwawa and Nsanje districts.
Speaking on behalf of the concerned residents, Samson Jinja said 384 AIP beneficiaries are yet to get fertilizer despite making payments.
“It was on 3 January when officials from agriculture and Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi came to redeem our IDs though their vending strategy. And only 43 people got their IDs redeemed but as of now no one has received even a single bag.
“So we are here demanding our money back because we have lost hope and the maize has already passed the stage of applying fertilizer,” said Jinja.
He further said that the council should also consider the distribution point of any aid saying people walk long distances to receive their aid.
“We have people with disabilities who cannot manage to walk long distances, ” added jinja.
Chief Agriculture Officer McKinley Gubuduza at the Thyolo District Council quenched people’s anger by saying that they should not lose hope as agriculture office together with Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer and Revolving Fund of Malawi are working towards that challenge.
“We have received your grievances and will write to the intended authority to act on that.
“We are working tirelessly to solve those challenges. We understand your cry but do not lose hope, ” said Gubuduza.
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