Farmers Union of Malawi has expressed fears of a worsening food insecurity in the country as prices of fertilizer in some shops in the country have gone too high for the affordability of most subsistence farmers.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency on Monday, FUM Chief Executive Officer Jacob Nyirongo said the rise in fertilizer prices has negative impact on crop production and will worsen the existing food insecurity in the country.
The concerns follow the increase of 50 kg bag of Nitrogen Phosphorus and Potassium and UREA to K85,000 and K84,700 from K71,500 and K70,000 respectively from October this year.
“Considering that prices have increased further, the majority of farmers will not access fertilizer on the market. This will lead to increased pressure on food prices”, said Nyirongo.
An agriculture expert, Leonard Chimwaza, attributed the fertilizer price increase to the recent 44% devaluation of Malawi Kwacha.
“What fertilizer suppliers have done is to respond to the devaluation of the Kwacha for their sustainability on the market”, he said.
Chimwaza advised farmers to resort to organic fertilizer, which is cheap as it is made from locally available resources and, at the same time, contains more crop nutrients and keeps moisture.
By Chifundo Gresiano
