Malawi is a country in southern Africa facing high climate variability and many
agricultural challenges. This paper examines farmers’ coping strategies for crop failure and
the determinants of their choices using household level data from rural southern Malawi.
The results highlight that farmers are not responding directly to climate variability, but to
crop failure, which is influenced by climate stress, as well as other constraints, such as poor
soil fertility and lack of agricultural inputs and technologies. The coping strategies adopted
by households are mostly ex-post measures, including engaging in casual labor, small
businesses and the sale of forest products. The main determinants of the adoption of these
coping options are education, gender of the head of household, soil fertility and frequency
of crop failure. This study concludes by recommending, among other things, that policies
for the more efficient communication of climate change threats should emphasize the risk of
crop failure. Furthermore, initiatives to assist households to better cope with climate change
should take into consideration the local context of decision-making which is shaped by
multiple stressors.