MBABANE – In a move to streamline operations and ensure a seamless rollout of the upcoming farming season, a list of pre-qualified agro-dealers has been released.
The decision, published as an intention to award contracts, was officially released by the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA) rather than directly by the National Maize Corporation (NMC) itself, acting in accordance with national transparency and public procurement guidelines. In preparation for heightened agricultural demand, the NMC Entity Tender Board evaluated submissions under Tender No. 01 of 2026/27 for the Prequalification of Agrodealers, with 24 local entities successfully achieving a ‘PASS’ evaluation score.
NMC opens maize buying season at E6 000 per tonne
MBABANE – The National Maize Corporation (NMC) has officially commenced receiving white maize for the 2025/26 harvesting season.
The State-owned grain buyer maintaining its producer price at E6 000 per tonne as it seeks to strengthen domestic grain production and enhance Eswatini’s food security.
The corporation, a Category A public enterprise under the Ministry of Agriculture, announced that all its regional depots will begin accepting deliveries from Tuesday, July 1, while its Matsapha Head Office will continue receiving maize throughout the year.
The opening of the buying season provides a guaranteed market for maize farmers across the country and comes at a time when Eswatini continues to encourage increased local production of staple crops to reduce reliance on imports and improve national food sovereignty.
Under the new buying programme, farmers will be able to deliver their produce to depots located across the country’s major agricultural regions. In the Manzini region, maize will be received at the Matsapha and Ngwempisi depots, while farmers in the Hhohho Region will deliver to the Good Morning depot.
The Shiselweni Region will be served through the Madulini depot. NMC said the success of the programme depends not only on production volumes, but also on the quality of maize delivered by farmers.
To qualify for purchase, maize must be clean, white in colour and free from mould, live insect infestation, abnormal odours and foreign materials such as stones, coal, glass and animal remains.
The corporation will also assess acceptable levels of discoloured, broken and rotten grain before accepting deliveries.
Moisture content remains one of the key quality requirements. NMC said maize delivered should have a maximum moisture content of 14 per cent, which will be adjusted to the storage standard of 12.5 per cent.
Farmers have, therefore, been encouraged to ensure that maize is properly dried before transporting it to the depots in order to minimise quality losses and improve acceptance rates.
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National Maize Corporation silos in Matsapha. (File pic)