• Malawi faces fertilizer shortages due to forex and procurement delays; the government seeks urgent external support to secure 2025/26 supplies.
• Only 30,000 of 110,000 tonnes delivered; subsidies restored, state agencies enlisted, and maize imports launched to stabilize food access.
• IMF engages in accelerated talks for emergency balance-of-payments support as Malawi implements austerity and fast-track measures.

Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika has confirmed that procurement delays and limited foreign exchange availability have hindered the timely securing of fertilizer for the 2025/26 planting season. During a policy meeting on 24 November 2025 with IMF Africa Director Abebe Aemro Selassie, the President openly acknowledged the constraints and indicated that additional external support may be required in the coming months to complete the necessary imports.

Agriculture Minister Roza Mbilizi reported that 30,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer have already been delivered, primarily from Zambia, against a short-term requirement of 110,000 metric tonnes. To close the remaining 80,000-tonne gap and ensure inputs reach farmers before the optimal planting window closes, the government has restored the subsidized price to 10,000 kwacha per 50-kg bag, down from recent market levels of 180,000 kwacha.

It has also opted for direct procurement and distribution through the state-owned SFFRFM and ADMARC to bypass private-sector forex limitations, while accelerating the issuance of electronic vouchers to more than two million beneficiary households. In parallel, Malawi is importing 200,000 metric tonnes of maize from Zambia as a bridging measure until the next harvest. Alongside these interventions, strict austerity measures—including a hiring freeze, reduced official travel, and expenditure reprioritization—have been implemented to free domestic resources for these essential imports.

President Mutharika told the IMF delegation that the government is “working intensively” to secure supplies and has already put in place mechanisms to make fertilizer affordable and accessible as quickly as possible. Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha added that these short-term actions are intended to stabilize the situation while longer-term financing arrangements are completed. He emphasized that the core constraint remains foreign exchange and that the current measures are releasing liquidity exactly where it is needed most.

For its part, the IMF acknowledged the challenges. Abebe Aemro Selassie confirmed that two technical missions have visited Lilongwe in recent weeks and that accelerated discussions are underway to mobilize emergency balance-of-payments support, specifically for fertilizer, fuel, and food imports. A meeting of development partners is scheduled this week to finalize the additional financing package.

These coordinated short-term actions—combining price subsidies, direct state procurement, fiscal reprioritization, and fast-tracked external support—are expected to ensure that sufficient fertilizer reaches farmers in the remaining weeks of the planting season. That household food reserves are maintained until the 2026 harvest.

Cynthia Ebot Takang, edited by idriss Linge