Abstract: Malawi has been at the center of the debate on agricultural input subsidies in Africa ever since it significantly expanded its fertilizer subsidy program about two decades ago. When it did so, Malawi was a trailblazer, receiving international attention for seemingly leveraging the subsidy program to move the country from a situation characterized by […]
Rethinking Inorganic Fertlizer Subsidies in Malawi
In many southern African agroecosystems, inorganic fertilizers are essential as soils are highly weathered, sandy, low in organic matter and inherently nutrient poor, and in general insufficient nutrients are being applied to maintain soil nutrient levels. However, the inorganic fertilizer subsidy program in Malawi makes limited economic sense and is not delivering on food security […]
Policy Note 46: Are Fertilizer Subsidies in Malawi Value for Money?
It is easy enough to calculate how much the Government of Malawi spends on subsidizing chemical fertilizer. Last year, for example, this was MWK 120 billion (about US$ 150 million) taking up over 50% of the agricultural budget. It is much harder, however, to calculate the benefits that these subsidies bring about and how they […]
Policy Note 43: Guiding Principles of AIP Reform
Most input subsidy programs to date have focused on increasing fertilizer use, with little attention to helping smallholder farmers use fertilizer more efficiently and profitably. The Malawi's Affordable Inputs Program (AIP) currently combines an economic and a social objective, respectively: (i) increasing agricultural production; and (ii) assisting poor farming households. This policy note explores the […]
Event Recap: Roundtable Discussion on the Key Drivers of the Surge in Fertilizer Price
IFPRI Malawi together with the MwAPATA Institute recently organized a roundtable discussion to facilitate a conversation around the key drivers of the surge of fertilizer prices recently experience by Malawi and potential policy options available to the Government. This comes on the back of current discourse in the media on the same and with the […]
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