Malawi has been experiencing a growing food insecurity problem and only recently this
trend is being reversed. Rainfall is erratic and persistent droughts have over time eroded
the capacity of poor households to produce enough food or earn sufficient income to
purchase from the market. On average, over the last decade, the country has only
managed to produce enough staple food to feed its population once in every three years.
Food shortages at both the national and household levels have of late been exacerbated by
macro-economic instability and a general stagnation of the economy. The country in the
recent past relied on food imports and food aid. Currently about 10% of Malawians are
chronically food insecure and are in need of long-term safety nets to sustain their
livelihoods.
Although the country is endowed with a good supply of labour for agriculture, yields are
low even in good rainfall years.1 Many farmers fail to access critical inputs such as
improved seed and fertilisers due to lack of capital and access to credit. When available,
fertilisers are expensive due to the high freight costs. This has often persuaded the
government to subsidise and target the input, although at high cost to the government’s
fiscal budget. A combination of growing population pressure and limited use of soil
fertility management practices has resulted in perpetual land degradation, which
manifests itself in declining soil fertility and therefore low yields. About 60% of
households in Malawi cultivate less than one hectare of land with 25% having access to
less than half a hectare. Only about 15% of smallholder farmers produce marketable
surpluses. About 55% of households cannot generate any income through farming. Thus
they offer their labour for cultivation of other farms on the basis of a daily wage, which
earns a meagre income. Experience with these types of problems has increased the
Government’s commitment to ensure that the country has access to adequate supplies of
food at all times to meet subsistence and commercial needs.