Reviving agricultural production in Malawi: successes and limitations
Malawi, one of the poorest and most densely populated countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is fast becoming a star thanks to the spectacular growth in its production of maize, its population's staple food. In just a few years, Malawi has doubled its maize production, allowing it to export it to its neighbors. This success is primarily due to a massive shift in government spending toward the agricultural sector.
This note takes stock of the measures implemented in the Malawian agricultural sector. It highlights their successes and limitations. In particular, it analyzes the input subsidy and shows how this measure has enabled the poorest farmers to access fertilizers and seeds, thus removing the main constraint to increasing yields.
Malawi is an emblematic example of Africa's agricultural potential. This experience confirms that farmers are very responsive when given the means to increase their production. But we must remain cautious in drawing lessons from it. In particular, national agricultural self-sufficiency alone is far from being able to ensure food security for all households, some of which, in Malawi, are still structurally food deficient.
The input subsidy is considered innovative because it is based on a voucher system, which is theoretically very efficient in targeting beneficiaries, strengthening the private input supply network, and gradually reducing public support. In practice, it is difficult to reduce its cost without compromising its effectiveness until the conditions for greater profitability of fertilizer use by farmers have been created. Indeed, the private input distribution network must be integrated into the program and the state must be able to act over the long term.
Malawi's success does not mean that an input subsidy policy, by a
The voucher system is not the universal solution, nor is it applicable to all countries. Broader public intervention is essential, prioritizing public investment in research and infrastructure and aimed at creating an enabling environment for private operators. But would the new massive investment initiative in the agricultural sector that Malawi is currently launching have been developed without the successes achieved through the input subsidy?
