*This op-ed was written by Dr. Bob Baulch, Program Leader for IFPRI Malawi, Lilongwe. When I first came back to Malawi, two-and-a-half years ago, I had barely heard the term ‘structured markets’─ despite having spent most of the previous 25 years working on agricultural marketing issues in over 20 developing countries. When I asked my IFPRI colleagues […]
Malawi’s new reality: Fall Armyworm is here to stay – Part 2
Part II: Managing pests and threats in the longer term This blog series examines the current state of the Fall Armyworm crisis, which has spread across nearly the whole of Africa. In Part I, we took a closer look at the damage, especially on the maize crop, in Malawi as well as the immediate response. […]
Malawi’s new reality: Fall Armyworm is here to stay – Part 1
This blog series examines the current state of the Fall Armyworm outbreak which has spread across nearly the whole of Africa. In Part 1, we take a closer look at the damage, especially on the maize crop, in Malawi as well as the immediate response. In Part 2, we consider why a short-term response alone […]
Malawi’s agriculture extension system at a crossroads: Two perspectives
If agriculture is the main lifeline for Malawi, then agriculture extension is the blood, the fuel for the engine. In other words, without a functioning and adequately resourced extension system, agricultural growth has no path forward. In fact, during the extensive consultation process to develop Malawi’s first National Agriculture Policy in 2015, extension services were […]
Op-ed: Is smuggling of maize necessarily bad?
In recent days, MDF troops have been deployed to the northern border to prevent the smuggling of maize into Tanzania and Zambia. While this action seems a natural response during a year of national food shortage, four factors should give us pause for thought.
