Mbabane – The Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed that Eswatini farmers will once again benefit from the Government’s Input Subsidy Programme for the 2025/26 farming season. The announcement was made this week as part of efforts to strengthen food security and safeguard rural livelihoods.
Payments for the subsidy will open on Monday 1 September 2025 and close on 30 September 2025, or once the allocated budget is depleted. Farmers are required to make payments through Eswatini Bank, MTN’s MoMo, or Eswatini Mobile’s e-Mali platforms.
The input packages remain at a shared cost between Government and farmers. For maize and beans, each party will contribute E6 000, bringing the total to E12 000. For sorghum, both Government and farmers will contribute E3 200, totalling E6 400.
Tractor hire rates will also remain unchanged. Government will cover E180 per tractor hour, while farmers will pay E400. Should the budget be exhausted, farmers will carry the full cost of E580 per hour.
The Ministry has also introduced new eligibility criteria to ensure the programme reaches vulnerable groups. Farmers are now required to apply for the subsidy and must provide soil test results not older than three years or proof of samples submitted for analysis.
Those earning more than E12 000 per month, or already benefiting from other government farming initiatives such as Hamba Ubuye, will not qualify. The subsidy will be limited to one beneficiary per nuclear family, with participation capped at three years before farmers graduate to allow new applicants to join.
Farmers with landholdings as small as 0.5 hectares will be eligible for the first time this year, provided they pay for input packages that match their cultivated area. Bean inputs will have a separate payment window in January.
To finalise participation, farmers are encouraged to register with their Extension Officers at their nearest Rural Development Area before making any payments.
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