The government says it has no plans to phase out the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), in the near future, calling it a cornerstone of its agriculture policy aimed at supporting vulnerable yet viable farmers. Since its inception in 2002, FISP has expanded from supporting 120,000 farmers to 1,024,434 small-scale farmers in 2025, providing essential inputs crucial to food security and rural livelihoods.
Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary for Technical Services, John Mulongoti, said while the government acknowledges concerns about soil fertility and biodiversity, discontinuing FISP is not an option.
“Instead, the government is exploring strategies to improve the programme’s sustainability,” Mulongoti said in response to a press query from MakanDay.
His remarks come despite a 2024 report by the Africa Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), Zambia’s Collapsed Food System, which links FISP to declining soil fertility and biodiversity loss—key elements of sustainable farming ecosystems.
Mulongoti said the government is promoting climate-smart agriculture, encouraging crop diversification, and introducing soil health management initiatives to address these concerns.
“The aim is to balance immediate food security needs with long-term ecological sustainability, ensuring that smallholder farmers can continue to thrive while preserving critical ecosystems,” he said.
Mulongoti dismissed claims by FISP critics that the current support system contributes to crises like last year’s drought by fostering dependency and promoting an industrial farming model with little ecological or health benefits.
“The ministry remains steadfast in its mission to support small-scale farmers and promote sustainable farming practices that ensure food security and resilience against future climate shocks,” he said.
The Ministry’s response to MakanDay’s press query outlined key government initiatives to enhance agricultural resilience. These include expanding irrigation development and support, promoting climate-smart technologies such as drought-tolerant crops and water-saving techniques, and strengthening policies to mitigate climate change impacts on the agricultural sector.
“FISP continues to be a cornerstone of these efforts, providing a reliable platform for empowering farmers and fostering agricultural growth,” said Mulongoti.
Mulongoti said that the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and other ministries, is partnering with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa to implement interventions aimed at enhancing agri-food sector productivity and competitiveness. These efforts, he said, focus on strengthening inclusive market systems, building resilience, reinforcing institutions, and fostering an enabling environment for agricultural growth.
“This is fully aligned to Government’s policy to transform the agricultural sector to achieve increased productivity and production, reduced imports, increased export, increased contribution to GDP, enhance food and nutritional security, and increased creation of jobs,” he said.
He said that for the government to achieve its intended results, efforts to develop and commercialise improved seed varieties and technologies must continue, especially as the world faces the devastating effects of climate change.
“These efforts by Government has placed Zambia as the number one Country in Africa in seed industry development,” he said. “Zambia can now boast of having penetrated the European market in terms of seed exports with foreign exchange earnings and jobs being the significant benefits as a result.”
The 2024 drought affected 84 of Zambia’s 116 districts, leading to a sharp decline in maize production. According to the Crop Forecast Survey, maize output fell from 3,261,686 metric tonnes in the 2022/2023 season to a projected 1,511,143 metric tonnes in 2023/2024—a 53.67% decrease.
The government blamed the decline to external factors such as load shedding and increased fuel prices, which raised production costs.
“Despite these challenges, FISP ensured that inputs were delivered on time, with farmers redeeming inputs by 31st December 2023,” he said. “In addition, the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI), in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is conducting soil mapping and testing to guide crop recommendations based on soil conditions and regional suitability.”
These efforts, he said, reflect the government’s commitment to building a resilient agricultural sector that adapts to climate challenges.
Additionally, Mulongoti said government policies continue to promote integration of all the seed systems, supporting biodiversity and Zambia’s commitment to international treaties on plant genetic resources.
“Further, Government policy and programmes do not sideline local and indigenous seeds as wrongly perceived,” he said “As a result, Zambia is party to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the International Convention on Biodiversity which commits the country as a Member State, to conserve indigenous seeds and plant genetic resources to promote biodiversity.”
MakanDay’s upcoming investigation into Zambia’s agriculture sector examines how FISP has shifted from a promising initiative designed to empower small-scale farmers into a system plagued by dependency, inefficiency, and environmental degradation. Instead of fostering resilience, the programme has left small-scale farmers increasingly vulnerable.
Photo Credit | Victor Musonda
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