This is the first Agricultural Cooperatives Key Facts Sheet in a series of Key Facts sheets that IFPRI produces based on the Integrated Household Surveys (IHS). The purpose of the series is to present data relevant to key policy issues on agriculture, food systems, and development topics in Malawi.
Highlights from this key facts sheet include:
- There is an operational agricultural cooperative in every tenth community in Malawi, but they are not well utilized to access markets or services.
- Almost no farmers (0.6 percent in 2019/20) receive extension advice through cooperatives.
- Although an increasing share of farmers engage in input and output markets, few do so through cooperatives.
- Few farmers buy inputs on credit in general, and almost none receive credit from cooperatives.
- Farmers who buy inputs from cooperatives do not pay less than farmers who buy inputs elsewhere.
- Farmers who sell their produce to cooperatives also do not obtain better prices than farmers who sell to other buyers.
Read and download the full key facts sheet: Agricultural Cooperatives here (PDF 442 KB)
Authors: Chimwemwe Banda, and Jan Duchoslav
Related Publications:
- Working Paper 41: Primary Agricultural Cooperatives in Malawi: Structure, Conduct, and Performance (PDF 1.2 MB)
- Policy Note 49: Can Cooperatives Commercialize Farming in Malawi (PDF 211 KB)
- Photo Essay: Talking to Farmers in Malawi to Understand how to improve agricultural cooperative performance (View here)
