Malawi value chain studies presented at ICABR conference in Washington, DC

(Post written by Paida Mpaso, communication specialist for NAPAS: Malawi, originally published on the Food Security Policy website.)

Six of 12 Malawian value chain studies conducted by the New Alliance Policy Acceleration support Project (NAPAS: Malawi) were recently presented at the 2018 International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research Conference (ICABR) on “Disruptive Innovations, Value Chains and Rural Development,” held at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC, from June 12–15, 2018.

The value chain studies include tea, coffee, macadamia nuts, groundnuts, pigeon peas, bananas, tomatoes, mangoes, and roots and tubers (i.e. cocoyam, cassava, Irish potato, and sweet potato). They were all conducted against the backdrop of the Government of Malawi’s National Agriculture Policy (NAP), approved in September 2016, subsequently followed by the recent launch of the National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP) last month. The NAPAS: Malawi Project, an IFPRI partnership, produced the value chain studies to guide agricultural investments during development and implementation of the NAIP.

The 2018 ICABR conference, which was attended by about 500 global participants and focused on the impact of new value chains and technology on agribusiness and farmers and their capacity to implement innovation, as well as the policy and institutional implications of transforming value chains and the agri-food system. The inclusion of NAPAS Malawi's value chain work helped put Malawi on the map at the conference.

The following papers and posters were presented:

1. Is the Future of Malawis’ Pigeon Pea Industry at the Mercy of India? An Analysis of Malawi’s Pigeon Pea Value Chain by Flora Janet Nankhuni, Nathalie Me-Nsope, Joseph Samuel Kanyamuka and Christone Jeremiah Nyondo. The presentation showed the increasing production and productivity of the pigeon pea in Malawi that recently faced a challenge due to domestic price decreases partly caused by India’s imposition of a ban to imports of pigeon pea following over production in the country. However, the sharp decrease in price has not yet caused a sharp decrease in production and productivity, probably due to the fact that Malawian pigeon pea producers are mostly subsistence and are not as vulnerable to price shocks.
2. Analysis of the Value Chains for Root and Tuber crops in Malawi: The Case of Cassava by Joseph Samuel Kanyamuka, Joseph Kuyamba Dzanja and Flora Janet Nankhuni. This presentation highlighted the increasing importance and rising demand of cassava and associated products due to maize’s vulnerability to climate change impacts and increasing urbanization in the country. The presentation highlighted the limited availability and access to quality cassava planting materials coupled with limited research and extension as some of the major factors hindering the growth of the cassava sub-sector in Malawi. Agro processing of the cassava is underdeveloped despite opportunities to process high quality cassava flour that can be used in the confectionary and brewery industries. Recommendations were provided for developing the cassava value chain to take full advantage of the existing opportunities.
3. Opportunities to Enhance the Competitiveness of Malawi’s Tea Industry: Evidence from an Analysis of the Value Chain by Justin P. Du Toit, Flora Janet Nankhuni and Joseph Samuel Kanyamuka. The presentation highlighted the need to incorporate smallholders into the value chain and for government to explore which other areas in Malawi are suitable for tea production. New investments to replace aging tea plantations are required to make Malawi competitive in the production of tea, that is currently facing productivity and market price constraints.
4. Is There Scope for Commercially Up scaling the Groundnut Value Chain in Malawi? A Systematic Analysis of Groundnut Production, Processing and Marketing in Malawi. by Flora Janet Nankhuni, Nathalie Me-Nsope, Christone Jeremiah Nyondo and Joseph Kanyamuka  (a poster presentation).
5.  Analysis of the Value Chains for Root and Tuber Crops in Malawi: The Case of Irish Potatoes in Malawi by Joseph Kuyamba Dzanja, Joseph Samuel Kanyamuka and Flora Janet Nankhuni (a poster presentation).
6. Can Malawi increase its Share on the Global Macadamia Market? Opportunities and Threats to the Expansion of Malawi Industry by Justin Du Toit, Flora Janet Nankhuni and Joseph Samuel Kanyamuka.

 

More details about the conference can be found in the original post on the Food Security Policy website.