Africa-Press – Malawi. President Lazarus Chakwera has admitted food shortages in the country but has underlined that his government is already to cushion the pain with free distribution of 50Kg bags of maize to vulnerable families and also the opening of Admarc which is selling affordable maize.
Speaking during the State of Nation address in Lilongwe, Chakwera said his administration has embarked on the lean season response for all the affected people in all the districts, giving each of the affected households a 50kg bag of maize every month, adding that he expects that members of parliamentarian whose constituencies have received this maize will testify that this is true.
“This intervention, which started four months ago, will run for a period of six months, and it is a supplement to the decision I made to release maize from the Strategic Grain Reserves for price stabilization, and that maize is being sold at an affordable price in a number of areas through ADMARC markets. This is progress, and we will build on it to keep our recovery going,” he said.
The expectation is that by the time free distribution of relief maize is done, most AIP targeted farmers will have cultivated.
According to Chakwera, AIP targeted 1.5 million farmers with land holding sizes from 0.25 hectares to 2 hectares with the expectation that they will produce 1,125,000 Metric Tonnes, thus contributing over 32 percent to our national food grain requirement.
The 2023 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) estimated that about 4.4 million people would be unable to meet their annual food requirement, representing close to 22 percent of the population.
For More News And Analysis About Malawi Follow Africa-Press
