Minister admits Admarc is ineffective

Malawi Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Professor Peter Mwanza last week admitted that Admarc is ineffective and needs to be revamped to meet people’s needs.

Mwanza was responding to a question from Member of Parliament for Chitipa North Nick Masebo, who asked government to find ways of restoring the former glory of Admarc which, he said, used to be a trusted market where farmers would sell their produce and buy farm inputs such as fertiliser and seed.

“I would like to tell this august House that indeed Admarc is ineffective and government is keen on revamping the organisation so that people are able to buy and sell their produce.

“It is of great concern that Admarc has been failing to meet the needs of rural masses, but let people be assured that government is in the process of revamping it,” said Mwanza.

The minister’s comments come two months after the grain marketer’s chief executive officer Dr Jerry Jana told Business News that the corporation is repositioning itself to become a competitive player on the market without necessarily abdicating its social responsibility.

He was optimistic that the organisation’s fortunes would be turned around after getting assurance from government that it would be releasing money in good time to allow the parastatal to engage in commercial activities.

Admarc has been failing to compete favourably because government used to release funding to the organisation after the private traders had already depleted farm produce on the market.—Mana/The Nation