The National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) has opened maize procurement to all suppliers, including those without contracts, after struggling to secure enough grain from the 185 suppliers it engaged to supply 108 000 metric tonnes (MT).
The agency is now accepting a minimum of one tonne from any person or entity, on first come, first served basis, as it seeks to replenish the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR), according to information on its website and and Facebook page.
“Under this extended procurement programme, any person or entity with maize may deliver maize to NFRA without the need for a prior contractual arrangement,” reads part of the statement.
NFRA is buying the maize at K900 per kilogramme, equivalent to K45 000 per 50kg bag.
The depots being used are Kanengo in Lilongwe, Kazomba in Mzimba, Mzuzu, Karonga, Mangochi, Limbe in Blantyre, Luchenza in Thyolo and Bangula in Nsanje.
NFRA further indicates on the website that “all maize supplied will be subject to inspection and quality verification and must meet the agency’s prescribed standards”.
The change in procurement comes after NFRA indicated that its contracted suppliers were given three weeks to deliver the maize.
On August 3, NFRA chief executive officer Bruce Munthali said the suppliers, who on July 21 had been given three weeks to deliver their supplies, were about one week into the allocated period and many had not supplied the grain.
When contacted on Thursday, Munthali declined to provide an update on the quantities procured so far, resources spent or the changes to the procurement process, saying government was arranging a press briefing on the same.
NFRA board chairperson Howard Matiya Nkhoma said Munthali was better-placed to comment on the procurement.
When contacted, again, Munthali said he was yet to speak to Minister of Information Shadric Namalomba about the proposed briefing.
Namalomba, however, questioned why the NFRA chief executive could not provide information on the maize purchases, saying the agency should be able to provide such information when required.
“They are the ones who have the figures, I don’t have the figures. If I am to speak, then you will have to wait until I get the information but they have the information and they should be able to provide,” he said.
Meanwhile, Grain Traders Association of Malawi president Grace Mijiga-Mhango warned that NFRA would struggle to meet its target unless it increased the buying price from K900 to K1 200 per kilogramme.
By mid-August, NFRA had procured only 26 663MT, less than a quarter of its 108 000MT target, despite earlier indications that contracted suppliers had the capacity to meet the requirement.
Government allocated K60 billion to NFRA for maize procurement in the 2026/27 National Budget. However, Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha announced in Parliament on July 21 that government had released K100 billion to the agency for maize purchases to enhance food security amid concerns over the impact of El-Niño on food production.
Mijiga-Mhango claimed that NFRA’s main mistake was setting the buying price at the farmgate level without factoring in transportation and other costs incurred by farmers and traders in delivering maize to its depots.
She also questioned whether the contracted suppliers had the maize they committed to supply, saying those with the capacity to deliver would have known that the price was too low.
Mijiga-Mhango said farmers hoarding maize were reluctant to sell at K900 per kilogramme because they anticipated better prices after considering the cost of inputs.
She said increasing the price to K1 200 would motivate farmers and traders to supply the grain.
“If NFRA can increase the price, traders will supply the maize and I am sure they will meet the target that NFRA is looking for,” said Mijiga-Mhango.
She advised government to engage farmers through contract farming to ensure they supply maize at fair prices, and to enter the market earlier.
Mijiga-Mhango also urged government to ensure maize prices in urban markets reflect the costs incurred by farmers and traders in taking the grain to those markets.
Meanwhile, the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) has also fallen short of its maize procurement target after exhausting the K5 billion released by government in May.
Government allocated K60 billion to Admarc in the 2026/27 Budget for procurement of commercial maize and other crops, with the corporation earlier indicating that it was targeting 65 000MT of maize.
Admarc spokesperson Teresa Chapulapula said the corporation is currently not buying maize because it has exhausted the K5 billion released in May.
She said Admarc had bought 3 701.173MT of maize so far this year but believed farmers still had maize to sell.
“We believe that some farmers still have maize to sell, as evidenced by the continued sale of maize to vendors and the NFRA,” said Chapulapula.
The 2026 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee food security assessment projects that 2.6 million people, representing 14 percent of the projected national population, will be unable to meet their annual food requirements during the 2026/27 lean period.
The assessment says the affected population will require food assistance for three to four months, with total food assistance requirements estimated at 97 887MT.
