New look ‘ISPAAD’ awaits Cabinet approval
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday June 6, 2022 06:00
It is also set to increase yield of selected crops through the introduction of output-based encashment, introduction of insurance cover, seasonal guarantee loans as well as robust promotion of climate smart agriculture.
The new scheme comes after a decision was taken to review ISPAAD after it failed to reap meaningful dividends as government usually receives outputs averaging 47% of the investment.
Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture revealed that they were administering ISPAAD for the last time during the season 2021-2022 ploughing season with the same guidelines and controls.
The Ministry added that next season will be guided by a new transformative programme that has been developed to enhance agricultural productivity and output growth as well as promote inclusive agricultural production.
Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Colleen Diswai said this week that the current ISPAAD has failed to improve food security in the country as low productivity and high import bill remained a challenge.
“We have developed a new one and the policy has been circulated on what the new programme is going to look like,” Diswai told a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on Tuesday.
“It is due to be approved by Cabinet, then we will implement it. The new programme is aimed at ensuring that the food production is sustainable.”
Diswai revealed that consultations were carried out before the new programme was drafted as a new policy. She added the Ministry held interactions with different stakeholders across the country to get their input, look at the challenges of ISPAAD and took suggestions on what can be done to improve the situation.
“Government was concerned that it spends more on ISPAAD and outcomes are not satisfactory. The objective of the new programme is to try and ensure that there is productivity from the resources that government put in,” she told Parliamentarians. Since its inception, government has spent upwards of P600 million each year on ISPAAD in the interests of increasing grain production, promoting food security at household and national level and supporting the rural economy.
ISPAAD is the main agricultural inputs programme introduced in 2008 to support communal farmers. Each season, it provides farmers with various inputs such as seeds, tillage services, fertilisers, herbicides and others in the interests of increasing grain production and promoting food security.
Meanwhile, Diswai said the Ministry took the remaining balance of the P20 million that was allocated to Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) to the Integrated Accelerated Horticulture Subsidy.
“During the pandemic time, CEDA was given P20 million to encourage food production, however it was not able to distribute all the money. We then went and collected what was left and put it into the integrated accelerated programme that is aimed at continuing the agenda of food production,” she said.