469 Civil Servants robbed poor Farmers of K3 million of FISP inputs
Breaking News Zambia
NewsThe Auditor General’s Report for the year […]
The Auditor General’s Report for the year 2025 reviewed by the Zambian Business TimesZBT has revealed that 469 civil servants were irregularly included on the approved beneficiary list for the 2025/2026 farming season under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and were loaded with farming inputs worth K3,926,500.
According to the report, this is contrary to Guideline 1 (9), (10) and (11) of Annex 1 of the 2025/2026 FISP Electronic Voucher Implementation Handbook, which prohibits individual beneficiaries employed by government, public institutions, statutory bodies, parastatals or in formal employment from accessing the programme.
Despite the restriction, the 469 civil servants across 90 districts were approved and proceeded to redeem inputs worth K3,800,257, representing a redemption rate of about 97 percent.
The report also shows that Central Province recorded the highest number, with 87 civil servants accessing inputs worth K722,700, followed by Copperbelt with 83 worth K697,200, while Northern Province recorded 71 beneficiaries.
Even provinces with lower numbers were affected, with Western Province recording nine civil servants who accessed inputs worth K75,600. Speaking in an interview with ZBT, Copperbelt-based economic and policy analyst John Ng’andu said the issue goes beyond the K3.9 million in inputs and exposes weaknesses in the poverty-targeting system meant to support vulnerable smallholder farmers.
“The real cost is the distortion of the entire poverty-targeting system, because FISP is meant to raise productivity among poor but viable smallholder farmers who cannot afford fertiliser at commercial prices,” said Ng’andu.
He explained that the inclusion of salaried government workers risks diverting scarce agricultural support from farmers who depend on subsidised inputs to produce food and earn a livelihood, potentially increasing pressure on other social protection programmes.
“When you give those inputs to 469 civil servants across 90 districts, you risk excluding vulnerable farming households that need the support, while the government may still have to assist those families through other social protection programmes,” said Ng’andu.
The expert indicated that the spread of the irregularities across 90 districts points to a systemic failure in verification rather than an isolated mistake, questioning why the beneficiary system did not identify civil servants before approving their applications.
“Government payroll records and ZIAMIS both contain identification details, so an automated cross-check should flag and reject ineligible applicants before approval instead of relying on a manual system that can allow abuse,” he said.
Ng’andu stated that the government should introduce automated checks against payroll and formal employment records and should recover the value of improperly accessed inputs where legally justified, and hold accountable the officers responsible for approving ineligible beneficiaries.
“The K3.8 million already redeemed is a symptom of a wider governance problem, and without consequences for those who benefited improperly and those who approved them, the same weaknesses can continue in future farming seasons,” he said.
Article by Philip Sinkala
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