Committee queries Admarc on maize deliveries
The Agriculture Committee of Parliament has faulted the slow pace of distributing maize to Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) depots three weeks after the exercise commenced.
Data sourced by the committee shows that as of Friday, Admarc, the State produce trader, had distributed 3 360 metric tonnes (MT) in the country’s three regions out of the earmarked 12 640MT.
In an interview yesterday, committee chairperson Sameer Suleman said government seemed not to care about the hunger situation.
He said: “Had it not been for the push to start selling maize, they [government] would not have started. People have nothing, and yet very little maize is being distributed. Where is the maize? Where has it gone to?
“It seems government doesn’t care about the plight of people. They sold a lot of maize to companies doing poultry, and people are suffering.”
But speaking in Nkhata Bay on Friday during the commissioning of Linga Irrigation Scheme, Transport Minister, Jacob Hara, who represented Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale, said the process was ongoing.
He said: “In the Southern Region, we have so far distributed 2 450MT, then 410MT in the North and 500MT in the Central Region. This exercise is ongoing so that people are able to access the maize.”
During that same meeting, Senior Chief Fukamapiri urged government to always stock the Admarc outlets with maize.
He said: “Vendors are killing us with prices, and that is the reason we need maize in Admarc depots all the time.”
Yesterday, Admarc general manager Daniel Makata could not be reached for comment, but in an earlier interview last week he said in terms of sales, the situation is mixed because in some markets, business is slow while in others people are scrambling for the staple grain.
On the other hand, National Food Reserve Agency acting chief executive officer David Loga said the matter related to transportation.
The Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee established that 4.4 people will not be able to meet their annual food requirements for the 2023/24 consumption period, representing about 22 percent of the Malawi projected total population of 19.6 million. Last year, 3.9 million people faced hunger.
