Seed selling company, Seedco, has urged its stakeholders to plan their businesses beyond Affordable farm Input Programme (AIP).
Seedco Sales and Marketing Manager Dennis Mdzalimbo said this on Friday in Blantyre when the company engaged agro-dealers and transporters in “feedback session” in preparation for the forthcoming farming season.
Mdzalimbo said businesses in farming supply chain must get prepared that government would at some point phase out AIP hence need to plan beyond the programme.
“As Seedco, we want our stakeholders to improve their businesses by planning beyond government programmes.
“Statistics shows that Malawi has over 4.5 million farming families and government targets about half of this number in its AIP planning, hence the need for us in the farming supply chain to plan beyond AIP,” he said.
Commenting on the matter, one of the agro-dealers, Charles Gogoda, described the session as an eye opener.
Gogoda, who is based in Mulanje, also hailed Seedco for letting its stakeholders to buy seeds on lay-by basis.
“Last farming season had a number of challenges, which we strongly feel would be surmounted by the agreement we have with Seedco which is allowing us to purchase seeds on lay-by basis,” said Gogoda.
The session gathered agro-dealers and transporters from the Southern Region.
