The Agriculture Committee of Parliament has expressed concern over the rapid rise in fertilizer prices, as the committee engaged local fertiliser dealers on the matter.

Chairperson of the Committee Sameer Suleiman said they were not convinced that global trends have triggered a sharp rise in fertiliser prices. “There is no way a Malawian will afford fertiliser at K40,000. For example, if you apply two bags of fertiliser to your field you will only be able to harvest 7 bags of maize which doesn’t make sense to go to the field anymore,” Suleiman said.

Bringing a solution to the matter, the committee says it will engage the government on possible alternative modalities of importing fertiliser to help bring down the price. Other options include using Admarc and Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRM) who have assured that they could get fertiliser into the country at a cheaper price than the current market price.