Three months ago, the Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) bought cotton from the farmers on credit three months ago, with a promise to pay them the following week.

As the farmers are convinced that Admarc will not fulfill its promise, the Cotton Farmers Association (Cofa) vice chairperson, Smart Gunda, revealed that the farmers are now seeking the court’s intervention.

The situation brews amidst a recent national Audit Office (NAO) report has shown that the parastatal has abused resources by failing to provide evidence for purchases amounting to K3 billion, failure to prepare bank reconciliations, non-compliance with procurement procedures, omitting bank accounts in the general ledger, non remittances of pension contributions as well as non remittance of pay as you earn (Paye), fringe benefit tax and withholding tax.

Meanwhile, Admarc spokesperson, Agness Chikoko Ndovi, responded that the parastatal has not received money for procurement of cotton from the government, hence the long delay. In similar news, sugarcane farmers last week took Illovo Sugar Malawi to court over unsettled dues.