New ALDEP applications not allowed - Swartz ( 14 August, 2000)

NO NEW applications should be received for the Arable Land Development Programme (ALDEP), agriculture minister Johnie Swartz said in parliament last week.

Mr Swartz, who presented the ALDEP statement to parliament, said the processing of new applications should be halted with immediate effect.

He said funds up to the limit of P105 million be sought and paid in respect of applications for which down payments had been made. Applications that had been appraised but for which no down payment had been made be deferred.

He added that a comprehensive review of the programme be undertaken immediately.

He explained that ALDEP was introduced in 1982 to help small subsistence farmers increase their production of food grains. The first phase of the programme, which ended in 1992, was funded partly through a loan of US20 million obtained from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and partly by government.

The long-term objectives of the programme are to create employment opportunities for the rural population, raise rural incomes and improve household food security.

Since its inception, ALDEP has been reviewed several times to make it beneficial to the small farmers.

Mr Swartz said in November 1997, under the second phase of the programme, the guidelines were once again amended and expanded with a view to add more packages, increase the number of eligible farmers, make the programme more accessible to female applications by giving them lower contribution rates than their male counterparts and to accommodate remote area dwellers.

"This decision was taken, because at the time, there was a felt need to increase access to ALDEP packages to a wider range of farmers with the belief that this would facilitate wider adoption of improved technologies," he said.

During the first phase, emphasis was on the distribution of packages and the construction of houses for extension staff ­ to the tune of P46 316 119.

Mr Swartz said the programme was popular but there were concerns. The first was the delay in the delivery of packages to farmers. This was acknowledged and could be attributed to slow delivery by suppliers due to lack of capacity. In addition, an increase in the number of applications over-stretched the extension staff and transport.

The second concern was the evidence of misuse of the programme, especially the cattle package for draught power. In some cases, cattle were not obtained for draught power but to increase the breeding stock of farmers.

Mr Swartz said following the 1997 review of the guidelines, there was a sudden flood of applications, which has rendered the programme costly and unsustainable in the long term.

"There is also growing concern that the programme does not seem to be making a significant impact on agricultural production," he said. "What seems to be happening is that the majority of the applicants are not getting the packages for productive purposes, but just because they are there at cheap prices." The total, National Development Plan 8 ALDEP budget is P65 million but expenditure at the end of April 2000 stood at P52 205 400.

Mr Swartz said P7 million was sub-warranted for the 2000/2001 financial year and has already been spent ­ and only P6.8 million remains for the rest of the plan period. More than 10 000 packages were distributed during this period.

He said despite the almost exhausted allocation for the whole plan period, there is a huge backlog of applications held by agricultural offices countrywide. More continue to pour in daily.

The current situation follows: 2 285 applications waiting to be appraised; 14 645 others, with an estimated cost of P108 443 600, awaiting down payments; and the rest, for which down payments have been made, are 17 694 worth P102 221 800. More than P211 million is required to clear the backlog.

"I have expressed concern about the misuse of programme funds through misdirection of such funds towards purpose or projects for which they are not intended," Mr Swartz said. "I would like to take this opportunity to caution past and future beneficiaries against such practices as they contribute towards making our assistance programmes unsustainable." Mr Swartz added that the extension staff should ensure packages are put to productive use.