Farmers in the country have called on the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) to start buying their produce.
Admarc depots in Ntcheu, Dedza, Lilongwe , Kasungu and
Dowa are often closed and if they are open, no produce is bought from farmers
This is forcing the
farmers to resort to selling their produce to vendors at prices which are far
lower than government recommended minimum prices.
“Vendors are buying
our soya at as low as K150 per kilogram, a price which is far below the
recommended price,” said Daniel Mwale, one of the farmers.
Admarc Spokesperson,
Agnes Chikoko, insists they have started purchasing produce from farmers in
Central Region.
“We are buying beans
and soya beans in Lilongwe
and we will soon start buying maize upon being given a go ahead by government,”
said Chikoko.
Some quarters have
been faulting what they call inadequate funding of Admarc which they say is
thwarting the grain marketing board’s operations.
In 2018/2019 farm
season, Admarc was given K20 billion for the purchase of farm produce from
farmers.
But in the mid- year
budget review last year, the overall allocation to the ministry of agriculture,
which also includes Admarc, was reduced by half.
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