Admarc eyes to invest in agro-processing
Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) board member Tamani Nkhono-Mvula says people can register food and financial security if the corporation invests in agro-processing.
He said this on Saturday at Liwonde Admarc in Machinga District when the Parliamentary Cluster Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources visited the site to appreciate the pigeon peas processing machine at the depot.
Nkhono-Mvula said the corporation has machinery in its depots, but some stopped functioning due to faults.
“Liwonde Admarc Depot has a pigeon peas processing machine installed in 2017 through the One Village One Product initiative, but has not been operational since then,” he said.
Nkhono-Mvula said in the 2023/24 National Budget, Admarc presented a budget of K150 billion to Parliament for crop purchases and crop production through irrigation and agro-processing, but the corporation was allocated K40 billion.
He said part of the budget was allocated towards maintenance of agro-processing machinery.
“This is because through value addition, Admarc will make enough money to fund its own activities in the near future,” said Nkhono-Mvula.
The cluster’s team leader George Katunga-Million of Phalombe Central Constituency (Democratic Progressive Party) said the country was losing a lot of money through Admarc’s dilapidated infrastructure.
He said they will engage the Ministry of Agriculture to rehabilitate and commission the machines at the depot to boost agro-processing.
“Agro-processing will enhance food security in the country by reducing post-harvest losses and increasing the availability of processed and preserved foods,” said Million.
