PARLIAMENTARY PRESENTATION - SUBMISSION TO THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND

PMRC was requested by the Committee to submit a written memorandum to comment on the major findings of the Performance Audit Report of the Auditor General on implementation of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) for the period 2018-2022. [...] OBJECTIVES OF THE AUDIT The overall objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of measures put in place by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in the implementation of the FISP to improve supply and distribution of agricultural inputs to small-scale farmers. [...] The audit covered the period 2017 to 2022 and established the extent to which MoA: ■ Ensured the existence of adequate policies and legal framework, institutional framework and structures to govern FISP; ■ Ensured timely, effective and adequate supply of agriculture inputs to targeted small-scale farmers; ■ Facilitated the processes of farmer organisations, monitoring and evaluation, and sensitisa. [...] To what extent has the MoA ensured the existence of adequate policies and legal framework, institutional framework and structures to govern the FISP? ■ The Government launched the FISP in 2002 to improve small-scale farmer access to inputs and encourage private sector participation in input supply and distribution. [...] The failure by the MoA to distribute farming inputs in accordance with the relevant parameters in AERs exposes beneficiary farmers to the risk of low crop yield and the objective of FISP to effectively distribute inputs to farmers may not be met.