NEWS | Agriculture | Food Security | Edwin Mauluka

The National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) is set to purchase 108,000 metric tonnes (MT) of maize after the Treasury released MWK100 billion to strengthen the country’s strategic grain reserves.

NFRA chief executive officer Bruce Munthali told reporters in Lilongwe that the agency has already accessed MWK20 billion of the allocation. He said 185 suppliers have been approved, with deliveries to strategic grain reserves expected to begin on Wednesday, July 22.

“The successful bidders are expected to start delivering,” Munthali said.

He urged suppliers to maintain quality standards, saying all maize delivered should be free from pests such as weevils and have a moisture content of no more than 12.5%.

Munthali said the NFRA currently holds 62,000MT of maize. The planned purchase of an additional 108,000MT will increase stocks to 170,000MT, representing a 174% increase.

The agency will continue buying maize at the government-set farmgate price of MWK900 per kilogramme. Even with the additional purchases, Munthali said Malawi will still face a shortfall of about 47,000MT against the national strategic reserve requirement of 217,000MT.

The announcement follows confirmation by Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha in Parliament that Treasury had released funds to NFRA to procure maize as the country prepares for the possibility of El Niño-related weather shocks.

Mwanamvekha was responding to a supplementary question from Dedza Mphudzi legislator Emmanuel Mawindo, who asked when the government intended to begin large-scale maize purchases through ADMARC and other designated institutions.

Mawindo said many farmers were still holding unsold maize while struggling to buy fertiliser and other farm inputs ahead of the next planting season.

He also warned that delays in government procurement and low domestic prices were encouraging the smuggling of maize to neighbouring Mozambique and Zambia, where farmers were receiving higher prices, posing a threat to Malawi’s food security.

In response, Mwanamvekha said government had acted by releasing MWK100 billion to NFRA.

“I want to assure the August House that, as we speak today, NFRA has its own maize. We also have maize from Zambia, and we have given MWK100 billion to NFRA to buy more maize. We are prepared to provide even more funding if necessary,” he said.

He added that the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) had authorised NFRA to proceed with procurement over the next three weeks.

Earlier, Agriculture Minister Roza Mbilizi told Parliament that ADMARC had already started buying maize from farmers but had been unable to open all buying markets because of cash flow constraints.

“We decided to be strategic by opening markets first in the Southern Region, where maize matured earlier than in other parts of the country,” she said.

Mbilizi said ADMARC had been allocated MWK60 billion in the national budget and a further MWK60 billion for recapitalisation. The funds, she said, would be used to purchase maize and other agricultural produce from farmers.

She added that ADMARC is currently buying pigeon peas, rice, cotton and other crops alongside maize.

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