By Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika
Fellow Malawians,
It is heartbreaking to see how hunger has ravaged our nation, hitting rural communities hardest, where families are now forced to survive on wild foods like zikhawo and chitedze. Between October 2024 and March 2025, an estimated 28% of Malawi’s population, or 5.7 million people, will be in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 or above, which is a crisis level of acute food insecurity, the worst in a decade. This is not just a statistic; it is a failure of governance where four out of every 10 children suffer from stunting due to chronic malnutrition.
This grim reality exposes the lies of three meals a day promised by the current leadership. Instead, families endure hunger and hopelessness, a betrayal of trust demanding urgent action. This crisis is not simply the result of environmental factors—it is the direct outcome of failed policies and gross incompetence. The Affordable Farm Input Program (AIP), once hailed as a game-changer, has become a national disgrace.
Corruption and inefficiency plague the program, and Malawians will never forget the “butchery fertilizer deal” that humiliated Chakwera’s administration. The soaring price of fertilizer, now at MK119,000 per bag, has made it inaccessible for many, compounding the crisis. These policy failures have exacerbated the hunger crisis, proving that reckless governance has dire consequences for the people of Malawi. How can farmers grow food when they cannot afford the very inputs they need? Malawians can’t breathe.
Contrast this with the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP), which provided affordable inputs, ensured efficient delivery, and achieved food security across Malawi. This is what competent leadership can achieve.
Under my administration, hunger was eradicated because we placed people at the heart of our policies. We understood that when farmers succeed, the nation thrives. Today, as we watch the agricultural system collapse, let us remember: it does not have to be this way.
Together, with proven leadership, we can restore hope, dignity, and food security to our people once again.
