Farmers that bemoaned the lack of markets for various produce, now have hope as the Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) and the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc)

recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide ready markets for farmers in cooperatives and associations nationwide.

The development follows after a statement by the African Institute for Corporate Citizenship (Aicc) called on farmers to form groups for crop aggregation before selling, to get good prices. Aicc project manager Leonard Chimwaza advised that aggregating crops to sell in bulk gives farmers bargaining power for good prices than when producing and selling as individuals.

FUM chief executive officer Jacob Nyirongo said the agreement is in readiness for anticipated bumper yield as the government will be investing K160.2 billion into the Affordable Input Program (AIP) in the 2020/21 season to benefit 4.2 million farming families. “The MoU we have signed today is to ensure that FUM and Admarc are well prepositioned to target regional and international markets. It is not only in numbers, but also in unity that our strength lay” said Nyirongo.