Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, Roza Fatch’ Mbilizi, has announced that as of 13 March 2026, a total of 925,428 beneficiaries under the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) had redeemed their inputs for the 2025/2026 farming season.
She noted that this represents an 84 percent redemption rate, a significant improvement compared to 64 percent recorded during the same period in previous seasons.
Speaking in Parliament, Mbilizi revealed that 577,261 female-headed households and 348,161 male-headed households have benefited from the programme, with a total of 1.8 million bags of fertilizer redeemed so far.
Regionally, the Southern Region has recorded an 86 percent redemption rate, up from 38 percent during the same period last year.
The Central Region stands at 84 percent, slightly higher than last season’s 80 percent.
In the Eastern Region, redemption has reached 83 percent, a notable increase from 40 percent, while the Northern Region has recorded 83 percent, a slight decline from 90 percent last year.
The Minister attributed the positive progress to the introduction of purchasing points in every constituency, the use of mobile selling points, and the involvement of MDF in delivering inputs to hard-to-reach areas.
Members of Parliament have commended the Minister for the encouraging performance of the programme and expressed hope for even better results in the next farming season.
