At an online event on 7 July, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow Todd Benson launched his book entitled ‘Disentangling Food Security from Subsistence Agriculture in Malawi.’ The book outlines how Malawi can reduce its persistent food insecurity by moving away from a reliance on subsistence farming. His thesis is that subsistence production and inadequate food markets together make for a vicious circle that ends in a high risk of food insecurity for many households. Dr. Benson also explores the principal paths that would result in a more food secure Malawi. The book will be of interest to stakeholders in policy and strategy design processes, students in undergraduate or diploma courses in agriculture, and staff of international agencies assigned to Malawi with responsibilities for food security and agriculture.
In his presentation, the author focused on three selected issues: building the productivity of commercially oriented farming households to accelerate rural economic growth, improving fertilizer response in maize production, and improving predictability in food market prices.
Dr. Benson highlighted a rural economic development model in which commercial smallholder farming households are placed at the center. These households require targeted support in order for them to raise their productivity levels and thus their incomes. Higher incomes will, in turn, enable them to drive broader economic growth through expanding their demand for the goods and services produced by their less agriculturally productive neighbors within their communities. Dr. Benson highlighted four elements critical to implementing this model:
- It will be essential to enable high productivity smallholder farming households to make use of the land of their less productive neighbors, while enabling those neighbors to maintain long-term control of their land. Strengthened land rental market will be required.
- It is particularly the locally resident commercial smallholder farmers that will serve as the engine for economic growth in their communities. Non-resident farmers will not provide this local economic growth to the same degree, as much of their income will be used to finance their urban-centered consumption, rather than to expand the economy of the rural community in which they farm.
- Vibrant markets which provide reliable incentives for increased commercial agricultural production are a necessary component of the model. Farmers must be able to find buyers of their increased production who offer remunerative prices, at the same time as households that increasingly rely on non-farm livelihoods must always be able to find the food they require at reasonable price.
- Government and its development partners must intentionally target the range of efforts needed to implement this model of rural economic growth. those seeking to increase agricultural production must be focused on commercially oriented smallholders, while their neighbors who are not as productive in their farming should be targeted in efforts to improve returns to non-farm livelihoods. however, any actions or programs aimed to improve food security need by default to be universally targeted towards any households that are vulnerable to food insecurity- the government has a duty to ensure that all Malawian citizens have access to the food they require.
Malawi is known globally for its large smallholder-focused agricultural inputs subsidy programs to attain food security. Dr. Benson argues that the large costs of these programs come at the expense of other necessary aspects of agricultural development. It is therefore important that the subsidized inputs be used as efficiently as possible. Particularly the maize yield response to fertilizer distributed under these input subsidy programs has been shown to be much lower than potential response levels, resulting in waste. In the design of future input subsidy programs, considerably more attention should be paid to the provision of agricultural extension advice to farmers on how they can realize from the fertilizers supplied their full maize yield response potential. Both government and private agricultural input suppliers should ensure that farmers know how to make the most profitable use of the fertilizer on their crops.
The reliance of Malawian households on subsistence farming to meet their food needs also comes from unpredictable seasonal maize price patterns. This uncertainty leads to weak markets where farmers are uncertain that they will find buyers who will offer them a profitable price, consumers are unsure that they will find in the market the food they require at a price they can afford, and traders are unsure that they will make a profit. Among the factors that drive price uncertainty in Malawian maize markets are (i) both poor and bumper national harvests, (ii) unpredictable government restrictions on trade in maize, (iii) interventions in domestic markets by ADMARC (the agricultural marketing parastatal), and (iv) humanitarian responses to large food crises that require food aid. Dr. Benson suggested that, while the first and fourth factors are difficult to address, expanding regional trade and reframing the role of ADMARC in Malawi’s food systems would result in more stable food prices. Despite its mandate, ADMARC has not been useful for Malawi’s food security nor for its market development. Its inability to defend maize price bands adds uncertainty to the market, while government’s financial support to ADMARC serves as a barrier to the entry of private firms in maize markets who might otherwise effectively compete with ADMARC. If stronger maize markets can be established across Malawi, ADMARC will not be needed.
Drawing on several decades of research, Dr. Benson’s book gives a comprehensive and contextual understanding of what drives the pattern of acute food insecurity in Malawi. The solutions for the challenges outlined can be found in a more productive, more specialized, and more commercially oriented smallholder-dominated farming sector. Stronger markets that operate predictably for the benefit of producers, consumers, and traders will facilitate reliable access to food for all Malawians.
You can download and read the book here
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