A marketing officer at Malomo Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) depot in Ntchisi district is among the 29 people arrested by Police in the district for allegedly selling fertilizer and seed under the Affordable Input Programme (AIP) to vendors.

The arrest of the ADMARC officer whom Police identified as Hastings Mthiko, alongside the 28 vendors followed a joint Police operation between Ntchisi Police Station and Central East Police Region.

Ntchisi Police Station spokesperson, Yohane Tasowana said Police received information that some people suspected to be vendors were buying the farm inputs and mounted a search which led to the arrests.

“During the search, we confiscated a total of 54 national identity cards which did not belong to the people.We understand they wanted to use the national IDs to purchase the farm inputs thereby depriving the targeted beneficiaries of their right to purchase the subsidized inputs,” he said.

Meanwhile, the District’s Chief Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Officer, Siliro Nkhukuzalira Magomero has bemoaned the conduct of the individuals saying it should be stopped at all costs.

“Ntchisi as a district generally has favorable agricultural conditions and has high agricultural production so denying the farmers their right to access the inputs is very unfortunate as it would affect production,” he said.