Farmers and Agro-Dealers Warn of Crisis as Malawians Stop Growing Maize Over High Costs

LILONGWE — A serious crisis is brewing in Malawi’s farming sector as more farmers decide not to grow maize this season. Soaring fertilizer costs, low selling prices for grain, and a lack of reliable markets are forcing both big and small producers to abandon the country’s staple crop.

Urunji Mezuwa popularly known as Ada Dalk, an agro-dealer and owner of Farms Urunji, says the demand for maize seed has completely dried up this year.

“From an agro-dealer perspective, people are simply not growing maize this year. I have been in this business for a long time, and I am not just saying this,” Mezuwa wrote on his Facebook page. “We stocked seed worth 15 million Kwacha, and not a single person is coming to buy. Major seed companies are already feeling the pain. Soon, you will see reduced prices for seeds.”

Mezuwa added that while climate issues like El Niño, production costs, market dynamics, and government policies play a role, the main problem is that growing maize no longer makes financial sense. Plenty of fertilizer is available in shops, but farmers simply cannot afford to buy it. “The major demotivator is the cost-benefit aspect, not the El Niño factor,” he explained.

The major demotivator is the cost-benefit aspect, not the El Niño factor.” — Urunji Mezuwa (Ada Dalk)

Farmers across the country say the math no longer works out for them.

Paul Gondwe Jnr, a young local farmer, noted that while seed companies are starting to drop input prices to attract buyers, the biggest hurdle remains untouched. “From a farmer’s perspective, farmers are simply not growing maize this year, but these seed companies have started lowering prices for inputs apart from the one that matters most, which is fertilizer,” Gondwe said.

“The math simply doesn’t add up for farmers anymore.” — Paul Gondwe Jnr

The situation has forced experienced commercial farmers to walk away from their fields entirely. Issac Nkhata, owner of Landlord Farms in Kasungu, explained why he has decided to rent out his land instead of planting maize this season.

“I am one of those farmers. Let others grow maize this time around. Last year’s maize is selling for just 45,000 Kwacha per bag at the trading shed, while a single bag of fertilizer costs 210,000 Kwacha. No way, my friend let others grow this season, I have rented out my farm.”

Maize sells for MK45,000 while fertilizer costs MK210,000. I’ve rented out my farm: ssac Nkhata, Landlord Farms, Kasungu

The fallout extends deep into rural communities across Malawi’s central agricultural heartland. 

A look at villagers in Mchinji, Kasungu,Dowa and Lilongwe who traditionally depend on renting out their farmland to individuals for extra income reveals a disturbing pattern.

About 70% of villagers in these districts are complaining that no one is coming to rent their land this season. The reason prospective tenants give is consistent across the region: with fertilizer prices so prohibitively high, renting land to grow maize is no longer financially viable.

Mega farmers are also struggling because the government traditionally the largest buyer of maize in Malawi purchased grain using foreign exchange from Blantyre Water Board, leaving local farmers out in the cold with their maize in limbo.

Out of desperation to recover basic living costs, many farmers are forced to sell their hard-earned maize to local traders at giveaway prices. However, these cheap selling prices do not generate anywhere near enough revenue to cover the price of high-cost fertilizer and seed.

The cost of farming in black and white: Seed-Co’s price rollout puts 10kg of SC 719 Njovu at MK138,000. Is this sustainable for local growers?

With seed companies sitting on unsold inventory and farmers leaving their fields unplanted, industry observers warn that the failure to plant this season will have severe consequences for the nation’s grain supply.