Admarc, NFRA get K10bn for maize
Treasury has released K10 billion to State produce trader Admarc and National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) to buy maize beginning July, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Joseph Mwanamvekha has confirmed.
In an interview yesterday, the minister said Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) and NFRA will each receive K5 billion for the disbursement for the purchase of 67 000 metric tonnes (MT) of the staple grain.
Mwanamvekha said Admarc will target smallholder farmers in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
“Admarc will use its over 300 depots across the country to speed up maize purchases once the money has been allocated to the respective markets.
“NFRA, on the other hand, is mainly targeting traders. It should be noted, however, that the country has enough maize stocks carried over from the previous season, with the NFRA alone stocking 284 000MT and if we add this with those from traders and farmers, we should be able to safely say we have enough maize to feed the nation.”
In his 2017/18 Mid-Year Budget Review Statement in February, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe said Treasury had set aside money to enable Admarcand NFRA to purchase a further 200 000MT of maize from within the country.
This year, NFRA has contracted AHL Commodities Exchange (AHCX) to buy maize for the strategic grain reserves.
According to the second round Agricultural Production Estimate Survey, maize production is estimated to have declined by 19.4 percent to 2.8 million MT this year from 3.5 million MT last growing season.
Maize is the country’s staple grain that traditionally impacts the economy given its skewed influence in determining inflation rates as it constitutes 45.2 percent in the consumer price index (CPI), an aggregate basket used to compute inflation.
Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture chairperson, Joseph Chidanti Malunga, in an interview yesterday said the committee is concerned with the pace at which government releases money for maize purchases.
“This is the reason we have been advocating for the creation of a special fund that would enable Admarc start buying maize earlier without even waiting for Parliament approval because, in the end, it is our farmers who suffer at the hands of intermediate buyers,” he said.
Grain Traders Association president Grace Mhango said traders had taken advantage of the delayed season to their advantage.
She, however, said at K150 per kilogramme, maize prices are low, considering the high demand which is in the region, necessitated by dry spells.
