Lilongwe– The National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) says it is optimistic that farmers will start selling their maize to the agency following the adjustment of maize buying prices.

Speaking during a press briefing in Lilongwe, NFRA Chief Executive Officer George Macheka said the agency will now be buying maize at K1,280 per kilogramme from mobile markets, up from K1,100, and K1,300 per kilogramme from mega farmers.

Macheka further disclosed that under a government-to-government arrangement, NFRA is also importing maize from Tanzania at K943 per kilogramme. He said this will help in addressing Malawi’s current maize deficit of 600,000 metric tonnes, after only 2.9 million metric tonnes were realized in the 2024/2025 growing season.

 “So far, NFRA has managed to purchase over 37,000 metric tonnes of maize, of which 10,354 metric tonnes were handed over to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) for strategic prepositioning in key districts,” said Macheka.

He added that NFRA has so far received K30 billion out of the planned K40 billion from government to support maize procurement.

While welcoming the price adjustment, agriculture expert Leonard Chimwaza described the move as “too late,” pointing out that vendors are currently offering farmers between K1,400 and K1,500 per kilogramme.

 “This should be a lesson to NFRA to act quickly. As it stands, farmers will still prefer to sell to vendors instead of the agency,” said Chimwaza.

He has since urged NFRA to speed up the importation of maize from Tanzania to help stabilize supply and prevent further price increases of the staple grain.