The Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) says it is well prepared to start buying maize from farmers today 9 April, 2020.

ADMARC Chief Executive Officer, Felix Jumbe, said all processes to start the exercise have been finalized adding that they have adequate funds.

Jumbe said: “We have conducted pre-market trainings with the key people on the ground across the country and our scales have been monitored by the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) to ensure that our farmers are not robbed.”

On Tuesday the Minister of Agriculture, Francis Kasaila, told the media that ADMARC has been given its first allocation of K3 Billion to begin the exercise.

ADMARC set the minimum farmgate price of maize at K200 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, an economic analyst, Professor Betchani Tchereni, has expressed optimism that the opening of the maize and tobacco markets is likely to revive the operations of the country’s economy as COVID-19 pandemic is paralyzing the sectors.

The Polytechnic based analyst expressed hope that the two markets, will help to increase circulation of money and availability of forex thereby giving the country’s economy some stability during this period of coronavirus pandemic.

“The economy of Malawi is under tremendous pressure which comes from different aspects including COVID-19 pandemic so with the tobacco Market, for example, we are going to realize the much needed forex.” Said Professor Tchereni

He further said the money realized will also help to buy medical equipment from outside the country and the forex will also stabilize the Balance of Payment (BOP).