Since the beginning of March, Malawi has experienced heavy rainfall linked to Tropical Cyclone Idai, which has led to intense flooding in 14 districts across southern and central regions of the country. The most severely impacted districts are Chikwawa, Machinga, Mangochi, Phalombe, Thyolo, and Zomba─ which each have more than 50,000 affected people according to […]
Assessing the structure, conduct and performance of Malawi’s maize market
Maize is the most important staple food in Malawi, contributing about 66 percent of calories to typical household diets. Most non-seed maize is produced by smallholder farmers while large farms mainly produce seed maize. Thus, the nation’s food security and poverty reduction is dependent on the maize market. However, maize retail prices are high whereas […]
Impacts of the 2016/17 Food Insecurity Response Programme on maize prices
Following dry spells and crop damage from Fall Armyworm, there is great uncertainty about what this year's harvest will look like. In designing the response to this year's needs, lessons can be learned from the impact of last year’s Food Insecurity Response Programme (FIRP). A recent Brown Bag Research Seminar by IFPRI Malawi’s own Bob […]
Project Note: How much did the maize export ban cost Malawi?
In a new MaSSP Project Note, IFPRI Malawi estimated the potential lost revenue of Malawi's export ban on maize following the 2016/17 harvesting season. Researchers estimated K69billion as the sum of gross revenue local traders could have earned, were they permitted to export their maize to Kigali, Rwanda. The sum was estimated as up to K54billion […]
Farmer-led public discussion addresses maize marketing challenges
On 8th June 2017, the Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) hosted a panel discussion at the Malawi Institute of Management to debate the policy options for addressing challenges related to maize marketing and pricing in Malawi. The purpose of the panel discussion was to bring issues related to maize markets and pricing to the attention of the public, and to […]
