|
|
|
|
| Business |
| No funds for Admarc to buy maize |
|
by
Taonga Sabola, 13 April 2006
-
07:45:52
|
With the harvest season coming to a close in most areas and government promising farmers that the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) will buy all their maize, funds have not yet been identified for the state produce buyer to fulfil the exercise.
Admarc needs about K2.5 billion to buy the maize and store it, according to Agriculture and Food Security Minister Uladi Mussa.
He said in an interview on Sunday his ministry is waiting for some funds from Treasury to kick-start the programme.
“We expect that if all things go according to plan, the exercise should start in the next two to three weeks.
“The money [for Admarc to buy produce] was not included in the 2005/06 budget but we hope that the Minister of Finance will get money for other non-core duties for this important exercise,” said Mussa.
Gondwe said in a separate interview that he was not in a position to tell where the money for buying maize would come from.
He, however, admitted that government did not account for such expenditure in the current budget.
“I will not tell you about where we will get the money at the moment. I will only be able to do that in the next budget,” said Gondwe.
He said government is expected to start buying maize late next month to allow the crop to thoroughly dry.
“We are optimistic by that time we will get the money for the exercise,” said Gondwe.
Government risk losing out on the maize deal as commercial traders have already started buying the crop from farmers at higher prices.
According to Mussa, government through Admarc is expected to buy the crop at K17 and above per kilogramme and that the final price will be agreed on after consultations with stakeholders.
Commercial traders are said to be offering slightly above what government intends to offer. Most prices being offered are in the range of between K25 to K30 per kilogramme.
Mussa described the traders who have already started buying the produce from farmers as “cheats” who only want to exploit farmers by buying at a low prices and then reselling the crop during lean period at exorbitant prices.
The country is expected to register a bumper harvest this year with the first round of crop estimates predicting 2.5 million metric tonne harvest. The country’s total maize consumption requirement is pegged at around 2 million metric tonnes.
Government intends to build additional grain reserves in Mangochi, Luchenza and Mzuzu to store the maize. The one in Mangochi is expected to be ready by end May although very little progress has been made.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
