The Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) is yet to receive the K40 billion promised by the government for purchasing maize and other produce, according to Nyasa Times. ADMARC Chief Executive Officer Ben Botolo confirmed that despite continued engagement with authorities, the funding delay is preventing the parastatal from entering the market. With the harvest season underway, the delay raises concerns that smallholder farmers will be forced to sell their crops to private vendors at severely reduced prices.
In other crop developments, the Cotton Council of Malawi officially opened the 2026 marketing season on Monday, Nyasa Times reports. The marketing window will run for 90 days, with the country expecting a yield of 22,894 metric tonnes from over 13,599 hectares of cultivated land. Apatsa Selemani of the Cotton Council announced that three companies, Afrisian Limited, ADMARC Limited, and Illovo Sugar Malawi, have been licensed to purchase cotton at a government-approved minimum price of K1,500 per kilogram.
Malawi is also advocating for agricultural trade reforms at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) ministerial meeting in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. According to regional news reports, the Malawian delegation is pressing for stronger cooperation on fertiliser systems and seed harmonisation to combat rising input costs and climate-related crop vulnerabilities.
A new agricultural financing model is supporting young farmers in Ntchisi district, reports AfricaBrief. The PUSHA loan initiative, backed by the Farmers Union of Malawi and AGRA, provides rural youth with high-quality soya bean seeds instead of cash loans. This system allows marginalized young people to enter commercial farming while bypassing the strict collateral requirements of traditional banking.