MINISTER REVEALS DATES AND PRICING FOR FARMING INPUT SUBSIDIES
Eswatini’s Minister of Agriculture, Jabulani Mabuza, has revealed the dates and pricing for the farming input subsidies. In a recent press conference held at the Ministry of Agriculture, Minister Jabulani Mabuza praised all Eswatini farmers and the National Maize Corporation for participating in the government subsidy programme.
The Farming Inputs Subsidy Programme is an initiative by the government to keep Eswatini food secure by empowering agriculture in the country. As weather patterns continue to shift unpredictably, the relevance of food security becomes increasingly apparent. Input farming subsidies are integral in ensuring sustainable agriculture practices and safeguarding the future of our food supply.
The farming input subsidy was formed in the past farming season 2022-2023. According to the Minister, the previous farming season was not a smooth journey but through the cooperation from farmers, agro-dealers and all other relevant partners, the agriculture industry was able to pull through. “As the ministry, we send our appreciation and also urge all these aforementioned partners to continue with such cooperation in this current season and in the near future”, said the Minister.
In his sentiments, the minister said in the past season the cost of inputs for a single hector stood at E14 000. “His Majesty’s government contributed 65 percent of the amount, which is E9 100. Farmers contributed E4 900, which equates to 35 percent of the total amount. This was the Eswatini Government’s means to cushion farmers against the high input costs which were experienced in the previous year due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Russia-Ukraine war had negative impacts on the economies worldwide, increasing the price of fuel, commodities, and inflation in general”, he added. As a result, there was a shift from the usual 50 percent split between the government and farmers. The minister argued that if the government did not intervene, a number of farmers would not be able to go back to the field in the previous planting season.
Mabuza also thanked the African Development Bank for the loan assistance of E112 000 000 given to the Government to make last year’s input subsidy a success. “A total of 11 519 farmers benefited from the input subsidy programme”, said the Minister. He went on to say in the previous year farmers were given a subsidy for one hectare. Last season, Emaswati benefitted for 3 hectares. He said that the government mentioned that such contribution ratios and hectares coverage per farmer was a once of benefit that was only applicable last season.
“The Ministry of Agriculture, through the National Maize Corporation, is expected to implement both the tractor hire and input subsidy programme within the normal budget allocations since the government was not able to secure external assistance in the form of additional resources”, said the minister. The minister went on to say that his ministry has noted that prices went down a little bit for the upcoming season, with input cost per hectare dropping from E14 000 in the previous season to E11 400 for the whole package of maize inputs in 2023-2024.
Projections indicate that they might go down further as the season progresses which may enable more farmers to afford inputs. “As a ministry, we have been observing the price decrease which led to the delay in delivering the speech for the current year as we were still monitoring them if they are still going down so that farmers could start making payments, by then the contributions would have been reduced for both the farmer and government, which would have enabled more farmers to benefit. Due to the approaching season, we are of the view that the projections we have are realistic and decided to make the call today”, said the Minister.
The Minister went on to announce that payments for the input subsidy will start on Monday 7 August 2023 and the deadline is 30 September 2023 or when the budget has been exhausted. The government contribution is 50 percent with the farmers contributing the same amount for maize, beans and sorghum. According to the minister, the pricing will be E5 700 for maize, E4 600 and E3000 for beans and sorghum respectively. Payments will be made using MTN’s MOMO or Eswatini Mobile’s E-mali, as well as through Eswatini Bank. Eswatini Post and Telecommunications will not be used.
For subsidized tractor hire services, the government will contribute E180 for an hour and the farmer shall contribute E400, and the deadline is when the budget has been exhausted. The farmers would then be expected to pay the full amount, which is 580 for a tractor per hour. Farmers can make payments through MOMO, E-mali or Eswatini Bank. The ministry has considered support for commercial or large-scale farmers through the Commercial Maize Revolving Fund, ‘Hambubuye’. “We expect all commercial farmers to take advantage of this opportunity and other commercial financing schemes”, said Minister Mabuza. He said the input subsidy programme is intended for small-scale farmers with one hectare or less.
Farmers with two or more hectares will consult with schemes like Hambubuye. Farmers can only benefit from the input subsidy or the commercial schemes put in place. The benefit of the schemes is on a first-come-first-serve basis. The Minister went on to encourage all farmers to take advantage of these opportunities and pay immediately for both inputs and tractor hours. In conclusion, the Minister wished all EmaSwati a good plowing season with the almighty God blessing Eswatini with a great harvest.