ADMARC Yet to Receive K40 Billion as Delays Leave Farmers Exposed to Exploitative Maize Prices
Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) says it has still not received the funding promised by government to begin purchasing maize and other farm produce from farmers, raising fears that thousands of smallholder farmers could continue falling prey to exploitative vendors offering extremely low prices.
ADMARC Chief Executive Officer Ben Botolo confirmed in an interview that despite earlier government assurances that K40 billion would be released to support the grain buying exercise, the parastatal is yet to receive the money.
Botolo said ADMARC has continued engaging relevant authorities on the matter, but no tangible progress has been made.
The delay now threatens to cripple ADMARC’s ability to enter the market at a critical time when farmers across the country have already started selling their produce.
According to Botolo, failure to release the funds urgently could leave ADMARC unable to compete with aggressive private vendors who are rapidly buying maize directly from desperate farmers.
“Contrary to the earlier promise by government that it would release K40 billion for the exercise, no progress has been made despite our engagements with the relevant authorities,” Botolo said.
He warned that the longer the delay continues, the greater the risk that ADMARC will lose out on the commodities it intended to purchase for national food security reserves.
The situation is already creating serious concern in farming communities where maize prices are reportedly collapsing far below expected levels.
In districts such as Dowa and several other parts of the country, vendors are currently buying maize at between K20,000 and K25,000 per 50-kilogramme bag — prices many farmers say are unfair considering the rising cost of farm inputs, fertilizer, transport and labour.
Agriculture expert Kingdom Kwapata described the delay in funding ADMARC as unfortunate and economically damaging, warning that it is weakening enforcement of minimum farmgate prices meant to protect farmers from exploitation.
Kwapata said ADMARC traditionally plays a critical stabilising role in the agricultural market by acting as a guaranteed buyer and helping prevent private traders from manipulating prices during harvest seasons.
Without ADMARC’s presence in the market, he warned, vulnerable smallholder farmers are left with little bargaining power and are often forced to sell produce cheaply simply to meet immediate household needs.
“This continued delay is unfortunate because it is contributing to non-adherence to minimum farmgate prices,” Kwapata said.
The funding delays come at a time when many rural households are already under severe economic pressure following months of high inflation, expensive fertilizer prices and rising transportation costs.
For many farmers, the harvest season is supposed to provide an opportunity to recover production costs and generate income for school fees, food, healthcare and future farming activities.
However, analysts warn that if maize continues being bought at heavily depressed prices, many farmers may fail to recover even the money invested in production.
The development also raises broader food security concerns.
ADMARC’s annual procurement exercise is considered crucial not only for protecting farmers, but also for building strategic grain reserves needed to cushion the country against future food shortages and market instability.
With private traders moving quickly into rural markets while ADMARC remains financially constrained, fears are growing that the state grain marketer could once again lose its influence in the maize market — leaving both farmers and national food security vulnerable.
The delay now places mounting pressure on government to urgently release the promised K40 billion before the country’s grain market is fully captured by private vendors buying maize at prices many farmers describe as exploitative and unsustainable.
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