Agriculture is the main stay for the economy of Malawi. Although the Malawian Government heavily supports the development of a modern agricultural sector, it is still dominated by smallholder subsistence farmers. This study is a literature review conducted to identify the cultural, socio-economic as well as demographic factors influencing the trend of agriculture and food security in Malawi. The study has revealed that smallholder farmers in Malawi are hampered by a number of challenges which include weak land tenure systems, poor access to farm inputs, unavailability of labor and gender inequalities, which affects sustainable and inclusive agricultural development. The repercussions of such a situation are that many smallholders are reported to be permanently food insecure and at least 40-60% of the rural households cannot produce enough to keep them for at least five months after the harvest each year. Furthermore, literature has shown that smallholder farming in Malawi is dominated by the aged people and women, whose access to agricultural inputs and resources is limited. In Malawi, the largest proportion of farmers’ overall work is dedicated to maize production, although it is not cost effective to cultivate maize on small pieces of land considering the limited access to inputs. Land tenure systems in Malawi are highly unequal and insecure, contributing to high levels of rural poverty which result in poor agricultural production and hence high levels of food insecurity. The study also found that urbanization is robbing resources from the rural masses that could have contributed to improved agricultural production for the smallholder farmers. These include the loss of rural labor force, loss of agricultural land to cities, unstable family ties and poor nutrition due to low income. These factors negatively contribute to the development of agricultural production. Despite the challenges, the Malawian Government continues to promote smallholder agriculture through a number of initiatives including supportive policies and subscription to regional economic agreements. The study recommends that implementing supportive policies is imperative in order to address the challenges faced by smallholder farmers and to enhance food security in Malawi. 
Keywords: Malawi, smallholder farmers, food security, culture, urbanization, land rights