Input redemption under this season's Farmer Input Support Programme is running ahead of last year, the Ministry of Agriculture said at the weekend. In a statement issued on Saturday 24 October by its principal public relations officer, Balewa Zyuulu, and reported by Zambia Monitor and News Diggers, the ministry said that as of Friday 23 October 675,459 farmers had redeemed their inputs under the 2026/27 programme. That is 65.93 per cent of the 1,024,434 beneficiaries targeted, and the ministry described redemption as significantly ahead of the pace recorded at the same point in 2025. News Diggers quoted the statement as saying implementation was progressing smoothly.
The statement's main purpose, as Zambia Monitor reported it, was a message to agro-dealers. The ministry urged dealers across the country to maintain adequate stocks of inputs so that farmers arriving to redeem e-vouchers are served without delay, calling sufficient stock critical to timely redemption as the planting season approaches. Farmers who have not yet redeemed were told to do so through accredited agro-dealers in good time, to obtain inputs only from accredited dealers, and to keep their e-voucher redemption codes to themselves.
Planting into an El Niño forecast
Zyuulu also tied the programme to the weather outlook. The statement encouraged farmers to follow official forecasts and seasonal advisories, and to consult extension officers on suitable crop varieties and climate-smart practices, given that an El Niño season could bring dry spells to parts of the country. Lusaka Brief reported on Sunday 25 October on the Government's El Niño preparedness plan and the Vice-President's warning that about 1.25 million people in 93 districts could face acute food insecurity in the lean season.
The ministry framed timely access to inputs as part of the Grow Zambia Agenda, which it said aims to raise agricultural production and productivity, strengthen food security, expand exports and improve farmers' livelihoods, and said it would continue to monitor the programme and provide guidance throughout the 2026/27 season.
The programme's cost is already visible in Parliament's in-tray. The second supplementary budget for 2026 presented by Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane last week includes K1.1 billion for the 2026/27 FISP e-voucher scheme within a K15.8 billion allocation to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Zambia Daily Mail reported; the far larger share of that allocation, K14.7 billion, is to pay farmers for the 2.7 million tonnes of maize the Food Reserve Agency bought this year against a target of 500,000 tonnes.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, “Agro-dealers urged to maintain adequate FISP input stocks” (24 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Over 600,000 farmers have redeemed FISP inputs – Govt” (25 Oct 2026); Zambia Daily Mail, “Govt seeks K19.9bn supplementary budget” (23 Oct 2026).