The incoming Mutharika administration announced the relaunch of the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) in November 2025, ahead of the 2025/26 planting season. The programme — which subsidises fertiliser and seed for smallholder farmers — is the largest annual agricultural intervention in Malawi’s budget and has a direct commercial impact on every company operating in the agri-inputs sector.
What FISP is
The Farm Input Subsidy Programme provides vouchers to targeted smallholder farmers that can be redeemed for subsidised fertiliser (primarily basal and top dressing NPK) and improved maize seed. In a good year, the programme reaches 900,000 to 1.2 million households and costs the government $50–70 million, financed partly from the national budget and partly through donor support.
The programme has been running in various forms since 2005 and is the primary mechanism through which the government supports smallholder food production. Maize self-sufficiency — whether Malawi can feed itself in any given year — is heavily influenced by FISP’s reach and effectiveness.
What changed under the new government
The Chakwera administration had modified FISP significantly from the Mutharika-era design, including changes to beneficiary targeting, digital voucher systems, and the role of ADMARC versus private sector distributors. The new government’s relaunch brought several adjustments:
Private sector distribution restored to a larger role. Under Chakwera, there had been efforts to expand ADMARC’s direct role in input distribution. The Mutharika relaunch has re-emphasised private agro-dealer networks — an important signal for companies supplying through those channels.
Beneficiary list revision. New beneficiary registrations were conducted in October–November 2025. Targeting criteria have been under scrutiny following audits showing leakage to non-smallholders.
Timing pressure. Planting season in central and southern Malawi begins with the November rains. FISP that arrives late — as it has in some previous years — delivers much lower yield benefits. The government announced accelerated procurement to avoid a repeat of the delays seen in 2023.
What this means for agri-input companies
Fertiliser suppliers and distributors operating in Malawi need to understand how FISP procurement works. Government tender volumes for subsidised fertiliser are among the largest annual contracts in the Malawi economy. Companies that are on the approved supplier list and can meet government certification requirements are positioned for significant volume.
Seed companies face a similar dynamic: the improved maize seed component of FISP can represent a substantial proportion of total domestic seed demand. Varieties approved for FISP inclusion receive a major distribution advantage.
Agro-dealer networks are the downstream distribution channel. Private dealers who are registered with the relevant ministry can participate in the voucher redemption system. This is an important commercial consideration for any company building an agri-inputs distribution business in Malawi.
The foreign exchange dimension
FISP has historically been partly financed by donor contributions (USAID, DFID/UK Aid, EU). The 2025 relaunch comes against a more difficult donor financing environment following US foreign assistance reviews. The government’s ability to fully fund FISP from domestic resources is constrained — which creates uncertainty about whether the full planned programme can be executed.
For companies that have sized their business plans to FISP volumes, this is a risk factor to model explicitly.
The broader agricultural policy context
The relaunch of FISP under Mutharika does not represent a return to the “big push” subsidy model of his earlier term — fiscal constraints under the IMF ECF program limit subsidy spending. The likely outcome is a smaller, better-targeted programme than the Mutharika-era peak, with greater emphasis on private sector delivery.
Sources: Nation Online, Nyasa Times, IFPRI FISP evaluations, FAO Malawi.