By Gift Wahuta
Blantyre, April 12, Mana: Blantyre District Agriculture Development Office has advised farmers in the district not to rush selling all their farm produce after harvesting, saying the best way is to reserve some to sustain their household food stock until next harvest in the 2025/2026 season.
This comes following a press statement on farm gate prices by the Ministry of Agriculture earlier this week.
Chief Agriculture Officer, Lusungu Banda, told Malawi News Agency on Friday that farmers should only sell their surplus after setting aside enough food to last the entire year.
“Farmers should observe food budgets to ensure they have enough food before selling. They should sell their surplus gradually, as prices may fluctuate, allowing them to benefit from better rates later,” Banda added.
To enforce compliance with the new pricing, Banda disclosed that structures have been put in place from the traditional authority level down to group village heads, to sensitize communities, with additional support from law enforcement.
“We will be conducting market inspections with police officers to ensure buyers are using certified scales, as recommended by the Malawi Bureau of Standards. Anyone caught manipulating figures or weighing systems will face the law,” she warned.
In a separate interview, agriculture expert Tamani Nkono Mvula, described the newly set farm gate prices as fair, noting the prices reflect production costs.
However, he stressed the need for immediate market intervention by institutions and concurred with Banda’s appeal for farmers to reserve food for consumption other than selling all the food at the expense of food security at household level.
"Farmers should do proper calculations before selling. If farmers sell everything now, they may end up buying the same maize at higher prices again later. Statistics show there might be a food gap between consumers and industry, and if farmers sell all their food, they will be the ones to suffer later,” he cautioned.
The Ministry of Agriculture introduced the farm gate pricing policy to protect farmers from being exploited by buyers offering low prices.
