Rural people around the world continue to struggle with food insecurity, persistent poverty and inequality, and environmental degradation. IFPRI's 2019 Global Food Policy Report calls for rural revitalization, highlighting policies, institutions, and investments that can transform rural areas into vibrant and healthy places to live, work and raise families. “Revitalizing rural areas can stimulate economic growth and begin to address the crises in developing countries, and also tackle challenges holding back achievement of the SDGs and climate goals by 2030,” said Shenggen Fan, Director General, IFPRI.
On April 3, IFPRI Malawi invited representatives of international organizations, academia, research institutes, development partners, private sector, civil society and government representatives to the Malawi launch of the 2019 Global Food Policy Report. The event screened the recorded keynote addresses from the March 27 global launch in Washington DC, followed by a live moderated panel discussion with Dr. Grace Kumchulesi, an IFPRI consultant, and Dr. Betty Chinyamunyamu, Chief Executive Officer of the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM), chaired by IFPRI Malawi’s Program Leader Dr. Bob Baulch. Afterwards four recorded rapid-fire presentations were screened. The event concluded with a further question and answer session.
To kick of the panel discussion, IFPRI Program Leader Bob Baulch outlined some key facts about Malawi, a country that has one of the youngest population structures with 51 percent below the age of 18. Based on the 2018 census, 84 percent of its 17.6 million people are living in rural areas. The fourth Integrated Household Survey (IHS4) of 2016/17 reports a poverty rate for rural areas of 60 percent and 18 percent for urban areas. 24 percent of the rural community is considered as ultra-poor. The Demographic Health Survey 2015–2016 (DHS15–16) found stunting rates in rural areas were 39 percent compared to 25 percent in urban areas. The United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index (HDI) ranks Malawi at 171 out of 189 countries and territories.
The panel then went on to debate the question: “Is rural revitalization a concern for Malawi and, if, so, what is the best way to achieve it?”
Panelist Grace Kumchulesi said that with a predominantly rural population, rural revitalization is a concern recognized by the Government of Malawi through the Decentralization Policy and the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) III. She also highlighted rural revitalization is about achieving all the 17 sustainable development goals (SGDs) of the 2030 agenda, while not leaving anyone behind. To achieve rural revitalization “Malawi needs to take an integrated, multi-sectoral approach, fully committing its investments in all sectors of development as identified by the MGDS III. Good governance and strong leadership are key to greater accountability from all stakeholders involved in the cross-sectoral efforts around rural revitalization,” stated Kumchulesi. She also stated that the rapid population growth in Malawi should be urgently addressed to achieve sustainable development.
Baulch highlighted that in Malawi, access to electricity is a big problem. Only 3 percent of the rural, 42 percent of the urban, and 11 percent of the population on national level in Malawi, have access to electricity, leaving the rest of the population to rely on traditional sources of energy. This, said Baulch, “is a challenge, if we talk about rural revitalization” as it negatively impacts the environment through deforestation while slowing down economic development.
Panelist Betty Chinyamunyamu said that Malawi depends on agriculture as a lifeline. Rural transformation is always a keyword and agricultural transformation has to start with smallholder commercial agriculture. Chinyamunyamu called for increasing productivity, more processing and value addition, and strengthening agricultural diversification. “But”, said Chinyamanyamu, “with the current infrastructure, it is almost impossible” to foster growth and productivity in Malawi. Apart from electricity, infrastructure (such as roads and bridges) and greater competition are needed to establish a more efficient transport network. Quality management and better warehousing are additional factors that can increase rural productivity. She emphasized the need to incentivize a rural based industry, noting that the establishment of special economic zones could be one solution. “Rural revitalization depends on symbiotic relationships, not parasitic ones”, said Chinyamunyamu. Inclusive business models that look at linkages and win-win options for both rural and urban areas are needed.
Chinyamunyamu also highlighted the role of women in agriculture as well as climate change. Building resilience as well as adaptation and mitigation to climate change are important in an environment in which agriculture is the main source of livelihoods.
Both Grace Kumchulesi and Betty Chinyamunyamu stated that rural revitalization is not a new term for Malawi. As IFPRI’s 2019 Global Food Policy Report notes, rural revitalization is a concern for nearly all countries, but there is no “one fits all” approach. There are five building blocks to rural revitalization: (1) creating farm and non-farm rural employment opportunities; (2) achieving gender equality; (3) addressing environmental challenges; (4) improving access to energy; and (5) investing in good governance. Synergies between these five building blocks are necessary to generate rapid and broad growth in rural areas in Malawi and elsewhere in the world.
Live Discussants:
Dr. Grace Kumchulesi, IFPRI Consultant, former Director of Research, Malawi Public Policy Research and Analysis Project
Dr. Betty Chinyamunyamu, Chief Executive Officer of the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM)
Moderator:
Dr. Bob Baulch, Team Leader IFPRI Malawi
Visit the Global Food Policy Report webpage for more details, download of videos, and other resources including the report and the synopsis.
