1. The Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, conducted a visit to Malawi from 12 to 22 July 2013 at the invitation of the Government. During his visit, he met with senior government officials from the Office of the President and Cabinet; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security; the National Food Reserve Agency; the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development; the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs; the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security; the Malawi Prison Service; the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training; the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development; the Ministry of Gender, Children and Community Development; the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development; the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee; the Ministry of Health; and the Ministry of Finance. The Special Rapporteur also met with members of the National Assembly, the Malawi Human Rights Commission and the United Nations country team, and with representatives of international donors and development cooperation agencies.
2. The Special Rapporteur convened five round-table discussions in Lilongwe and Zomba with representatives of non-governmental organizations, trade unions, farmers associations and academics. He visited the central and southern regions, meeting with local officials and communities in the districts of Dedza, Salima, Mulanje, Thyolo and Zomba, including tea estate workers in the village of Bwaila in Traditional Authority Mchilamwela, villagers facing displacement from land adjoining a sugar cane plantation in Mtakataka, tenant workers on a tobacco farm in Changoma, and staff of a nutrition rehabilitation unit developing a community garden project at the Mulanje Mission Hospital; and farmers involved in agroecological projects in Ekwendeni, Mzimba District, and in Lodi, Dedza District. The Special Rapporteur also visited Maula Prison in Lilongwe, where he met with prisoners and with representatives of the prison administration.
3. The Special Rapporteur is grateful to the Government for facilitating his visit and for the open and frank spirit in which dialogues were conducted. He expresses his thanks and appreciation to the wide range of people and local communities he was able to meet with, as well to the United Nations country team and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Malawi for the excellent support provided.
4. The visit took place at a time when the country is making important choices for its near and long-term future. On 8 June 2013, President Joyce Banda announced at the “Nutrition for Growth” summit in London, that Malawi had joined the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition; the terms of its agreement are set out in a country cooperation framework that includes a series of policy commitments engaging the country for the years to come. The 2014 elections and the fiftieth anniversary of independence (“Malawi at 50”) also provide opportunities for a national dialogue on a renewed comprehensive vision for the country.