Delays by State agencies to purchase produce, particularly maize has left farmers at the mercy of vendors who are buying the grain at prices below the farm gate rate.
The government allocated K60 billion each to National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) and Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) Limited for maize and crop purchases in the K10.9 trillion 2026/27 National Budget that rolled out on April 1.
However, over a month after Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development published recommended farm gate prices for produce on April 4 2026, the two agencies are yet to hit the market.
The minimum farm gate price for maize is K900 per kilogramme (kg), but vendors are reportedly offering as low as K500 per kg in some areas.
In an interview, NFRA chief executive officer Bruce Munthali said the agency was ready to begin buying maize but was waiting for the Treasury to release funds.
He said NFRA plans to increase maize stocks from the current 82 000 metric tonnes (MT) to 150 000MT as part of efforts to strengthen national food security.
“We want to make sure that food is affordable. We will work on bringing down food-driven inflation. Our President, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, has made it very clear that every Malawian should be able to afford food and that no one goes hungry,” said Munthali.
In a separate interview, Admarc board chairperson Gray Nyandule Phiri also said the corporation is yet to receive funfing for maize purchases.
He, however, said Admarc would buy maize at the government-set price of K900 per kg.
“Once the money is available we will open the markets. We will see which ones to start with. So for now I cannot say we will open on such a date,” said Nyandule Phiri.
Admarc is targeting to purchase about 40 000MT of maize and rice this season.
Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation spokesperson Williams Banda stated briefly that the funding process had started and disbursements would be made according to government cash flow.
Meanwhile, agriculture policy expert Tamani Nkhono-Mvula described the delay as unfortunate, warning that it was undermining enforcement of farmgate prices and weakening efforts to build strategic grain reserves.
“I got a call from somebody saying that in Dowa and Ntchisi maize is selling at as low as K500 per kg, which is far below the farmgate price. All these things are happening because we don’t have these institutions on the market,” he said.
Nkhono-Mvula said one of the reasons the government shifted the financial year to start on April 1 was to ensure that institutions such as Admarc and NFRA accessed resources early enough to enter the market.
Grain Traders Association of Malawi president Grace Mijiga-Mhango also urged Admarc and NFRA to move quickly to protect farmers from exploitation.
Last year, government imported maize from other countries to contain a hunger crisis. The imports contributed to a reduction in maize prices from about K1 300 per kg to K900 per kg.
