Mbabane – The Ministry of Agriculture, led by Minister Honorable Mandla Tshawuka, has announced that farmers earning more than E12,000 gross per month will be excluded from the Government’s Input Subsidy Programme for the 2025/26 farming season. The decision follows public concerns that the programme has been disproportionately benefiting wealthier farmers, and aims to ensure that support reaches small-scale and vulnerable farmers who rely heavily on government assistance for their livelihoods.
Under the revised guidelines, beneficiaries of other government farming initiatives, such as Hamba Ubuye, will also be excluded. Participation is limited to one farmer per nuclear family, and farmers may remain in the programme for a maximum of three years before graduating to allow new participants to benefit.
The Ministry has introduced new measures to make the subsidy more effective. Input packages will now be allocated according to agro-ecological zones, ensuring crops are suitable for the specific environmental conditions of each region. For the first time, farmers with as little as 0.5 hectares of land are eligible to join the programme, although they may only purchase input packages proportional to the size of their land.
Changes have also been made to the payment schedule for bean inputs. Farmers will no longer be required to pay in September; instead, a short payment window will open in January to better align with the crop’s planting season.
Minister Tshawuka is urging all farmers to register with their Extension Officers at the nearest Rural Development Area before making any payments.
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