Farming in Malawi © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

Maize is the staple of the Malawian diet. Over 80% of the population depends on agriculture for livelihoods of which the majority are subsistence farmers working small plots of rainfed crops. Rainfall is erratic from one harvest season to the next and irrigation is in place for less than 20% of cultivated land. In years of good rains, the country enjoys a surplus and poverty eases a little; if rainfall fails, household food security suffers, sometimes to serious degree. In 2005, the lowest maize harvest in a decade left almost half of the population in need of food assistance.

The last decade has seen periodic attempts to improve farm efficiency in Malawi through subsidies for higher quality maize seeds and fertiliser that poor farmers cannot normally afford. Since 2005, aided by good rains and by a more relaxed ideology of international donors and financial institutions, this strategy has brought about a significant recovery in food security. The proportion of young children who are underweight fell to 14% in 2007, in line with the MDG target.

The country has even managed to navigate a path through the food and fuel price crisis of 2008. A ban on the export of maize, the introduction of state price controls, backed by $77 million of emergency IMF support, have so far apparently prevented serious dislocation of household access to food. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has presented the agency’s highest award to President Bingu Wa Mutharika, who takes responsibility for the agriculture sector. Malawi spends 16% of its national budget on agriculture, unusually high for Africa.

However, the hunger season of early 2009 may expose imperfections in Malawi’s subsidy strategy. Difficult judgements are required in deciding how much surplus to export, how much the state should purchase for national food security and how to create impartial incentives through subsidy and price controls. The cautiously positive food security prediction for the period to March published by the US agency, FEWS NET, includes the caveat that “prices should remain affordable if ADMARC (the state food distribution agency) is able to maintain adequate supply to meet demand.” Some observers report that government supplies have faltered, especially in southern regions where the most recent harvest was less favourable.

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