NFRA Silos Fast Running Dry
The Budget and Finance committee of Parliament visited the National Food Reserve Agency-NFRA silos in Lilongwe on Wednesday where they discovered there is only 14 thousand metric tons (MT) of maize in stock.
This is against the recommended 217 thousand MT.
It was discovered that the reserve only has 14 thousand metric tons of maize against the recommended 217 thousand metric tons, a situation which the committee says is worrisome.
The situation is not enough given the hunger situation in the country.
Budget and Finance committee member Dr. Cornelius Mwalwanda has told us he is not impressed with what they have found saying the matter needs to be handled with urgency.
“We are in a very difficult situation, we have to find ways of solving this problem and those that are having maize in the country should sell to NFRA,” he said.
“Our concern is that this issue needs to be resolved as quickly as possible,” he added.
Out of a government provision of 10 billion Kwacha, NFRA says has only used one billion Kwacha.
NFRA Chief Executive Officer, Nasinuku Saukila, disclosed that supplies did not supply the maize, pushing the blame to the competitive tender set by government.
New estimates by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee indicate that the number of food insecure people has risen to 1,879,391.
