The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has demanded an explanation from Treasury over delays in releasing funds to ADMARC for maize procurement, warning that farmers are being exposed to exploitation by private traders at the peak of the harvest season.
Speaking during a press briefing in Blantyre on Friday, CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa accused government of failing to act in line with promises made in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) manifesto regarding food security and support to local farmers.
In a letter addressed to Secretary to the Treasury Cliff Chuinda and copied to Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha, the governance watchdog questioned why ADMARC is yet to receive funding for maize purchases despite the 2026 national budget having already been passed in Parliament in April.
“As a mouth-piece of the voiceless citizenry, and in exercise of its governance watchdog role, CDEDI feels duty-bound to request for an explanation on why ADMARC is yet to receive funds for the procurement of maize despite the national budget being passed,” said Namiwa.
The organization referred to page 26 of the DPP manifesto where the ruling party pledged to reform ADMARC into a commercial entity with local and international market linkages aimed at stabilising prices and giving farmers fair returns.
CDEDI also reminded government of its promise to ensure that the National Strategic Grain Reserves maintain at least 150,000 metric tonnes of maize at any given time.
Namiwa argued that once government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, announced the farm-gate prices for maize, Treasury should have immediately released resources to ADMARC to enable the state grain trader to start buying produce from farmers.
“We take it that the moment government announced the farm-gate prices, Treasury should have responded by making resources available. This would have allowed farmers to receive fair prices for their maize while preventing private traders from mopping up the market,” he said.
According to CDEDI, failure to release the funds early risks creating a repeat of last year’s maize crisis when Malawi was forced to import maize despite the staple food having been produced locally.
Namiwa said it was unacceptable for a country that prides itself on being an agro-based economy to rely on maize imports for the survival of its citizens.
“It does not sit well for a country that prides in agro-economy to import food for the survival of its own citizens,” he said.
He further argued that maize imports put additional pressure on the country’s already strained foreign exchange reserves, saying the scarce forex should instead be preserved for strategic imports such as fuel, medicines and industrial raw materials.
The governance body has since appealed to Treasury to urgently release the budgetary allocation meant for ADMARC maize procurement, warning that delays could negatively affect both farmers and national food security.
