Mbabane- The government of Eswatini will spend E11.5 million to cushion farmers against rising tractor-hire costs, ensuring that they pay only E400 per hour during the 2026/27 planting season.
The intervention comes as the official subsidized tractor-hire rate has increased from E580 to E607 per hour, reflecting rising agricultural production costs.
However, farmers will not shoulder the full cost of the new rate, with government absorbing the difference through the E11.5 million allocation.
Minister of Agriculture Mandla Tshawuka announced the measure on Monday when he officially launched the 2026/27 grain ploughing and planting season, alongside Government’s renewed push to increase domestic food production.
The minister said the intervention was part of government’s efforts to ensure that rising input and operational costs do not prevent farmers, particularly smallholder producers, from participating in the planting season. The tractor-hire support will be implemented across the country, with tractors and implements being mobilized through the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Maize Corporation (NMC) and participating private contractors.
The intervention comes against a backdrop of increasing costs affecting the agricultural sector.Tshawuka said fuel prices had risen from approximately E22 in 2025 to E27.50 in 2026, while disruptions in global fertiliser supply chains had also pushed up the cost of agricultural production.
On the same note, Tshawuka also announced that the government has also set aside E65 million for the 2026/27 Farm Input Support Programme, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the NMC.
The programme provides farmers with subsidised agricultural inputs, including certified maize seed, basal and top-dressing fertiliser, approved herbicides and pesticides, as well as technical extension support.
In this, the government will maintain its 50 per cent contribution towards the input packages this season despite the increase in production costs. Farmers, however, will pay more than they did last season for some of the packages.
The contribution for a one-hectare maize package has increased from E6 000 to E6 700, while the cost of a one-hectare beans package has also risen to E6 700.
For sorghum, farmers will contribute E3 576 per hectare, compared to E3 200 previously.Farmers taking half-hectare packages will pay E3 350 for maize and beans, while the sorghum package will cost E1 788.
Tshauka attributed the increases to the difficult cost environment facing agriculture, particularly higher fuel prices and international disruptions affecting the supply of fertiliser.
To improve access to the subsidy programme, the NMC is introducing a mobile application through which farmers will be able to register, apply for subsidized inputs and access other services without having to make repeated trips to Regional Development Areas.
Farmers can start downloading and registering on the application from Wednesday, August 19, 2026, with applications for subsidised input packages also opening on the same day.Tshauka said farmers would only need to register once before accessing the services.
Existing payment channels, including Eswatini Bank, MTN MoMo and Eswatini Mobile e-Mali, will remain available. MoMo customers will also be able to make payments through the new application.The minister cautioned farmers against making payments before receiving confirmation from the NMC that their applications had been approved.
He said only eligible farmers would be advised to make their contributions and warned that the programme would close once the allocated budget had been exhausted.
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