As the harvesting season is approaching, some chiefs in Mchinji have complained of lack of markets where they can sell their produce.
Group village head Manguwaule, traditional authorities Dambe, Kapondo and Nyaza told Vice-President Saulos Chilima, who is also the presidential candidate of UTM Party, during whistle-stop rallies on Sunday that communities struggle to access markets because State produce trader Agricultural Development Marketing Corporation (Admarc) is dysfunctional.
at low prices
“We have suffered for a long time. When we harvest our crops, we get very little from vendors because there is no Admarc. We want proper markets this time so that people should enjoy fruits of their hard work,” said T/A Kapondo.
In his response, Chilima assured communities that if he wins the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections, he will ensure that Admarc operations are improved to meet farmers’ expectations across the country.
“After 54 years of independence, we cannot be complaining of hunger. We have Admarc which collapsed many years ago. We need to revisit its operations”, he said.
Last year, government gave Admarc about K5 billion to start procuring 67 000 metric tonnes of the staple grain, the assignment was contracted Auction Holdings Commodities Exchange (AHCX) to buy maize from traders of mistrust of the institution.
