The Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) has, so far, purchased 3.717 million metric tonnes (mt) of maize from local farmers since it entered the market this year.
This is according to officials.
The officials say Admarc has also bought slightly over 1.6 million mt of paddy rice, 1.3 million mt of pigeon peas and 414,040 mt of cotton within the same season.
Admarc spokesperson Theresa Chapulapula said, so far, the State-owned grain trader has used about K5 billion on maize purchase this year.
“Some farmers have maize, especially in Mzimba, Kasungu and Chitipa. It is for this situation [that] NFRA has started buying maize using Admarc markets in specified areas.
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“At the moment, Admarc markets will remain open and, once additional resources become available, the company will resume purchasing commodities,” Chapulapula said.
Admarc has, however, said it is currently not purchasing commodities from farmers because it has run out of finances for that activity.
But Chapulapula said Admarc was committed to ensuring that it purchases more maize towards its target.
“However, the company’s ability to meet the target will depend on the availability of additional financial resources from the government,” she said.
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Recently, agriculture policy expert Leonard Chimwaza called for the capacitation of Admarc.
