Smallholders In Malawi Research Articles

Uptake Determinants of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practice for Greening Smallholder Groundnut Value Chain: Evidence from Malawi

Crop value chain greening projects can increase sustainability amidst the numerous difficulties facing agroecosystems due to degradation caused by overuse and climate change. Over the last few decades, external aid/support has been the main driver of food value chain greening efforts. One such initiative is the Sustainable Agriculture Production and Marketing for Rural Transformation (SAPMaRT) project, implemented to green Malawi's groundnut value chain. There is limited evidence on determinants of project participation and uptake of innovative practices among groundnut smallholders in Malawi. What determines agricultural project participation and the uptake level and intensity of promoted greening practices? We collected data from 244 households that participated in two SAPMaRT project districts, Kasungu and Mzimba. The binary probit and poisson regression models were used to assess the factors influencing project participation and groundnut greening practices (GPs) uptake. We found project participation's positive and significant effect on GPs’ uptake level and intensity. Education level, household size, climate awareness, and extension positively influenced project participation. Project participation, education level, age, and extension positively influenced the uptake level of GPs. However, the age of the household head was a negative determinant of the uptake level of GPs. The key determinants of uptake intensity were household head project participation, education level, land size, and extension. Our findings suggested that funded project participation enhances the uptake of agricultural interventions among smallholders.

Potential contribution of agronomic practices and conservation agriculture towards narrowing smallholders’ yield gaps in Southern Africa: lessons from the field

Summary Smallholders in Southern Africa continue to grapple with low maize productivity despite this being the staple food crop. This study sought to analyze and isolate the relative contribution of agronomic practices to maize yields obtained by smallholders in Malawi and Mozambique using data generated from on-farm trials testing the performance of conservation agriculture cropping systems. The trials were implemented in two communities, namely Kasungu district in Malawi and Sussundenga district in Mozambique, and ran for seven consecutive growing seasons starting in 2010–2011. Maize yield was measured annually in the on-farm trials, which included a ‘control treatment’ representing an improved farm practice, and in neighboring fields managed by the same farmers on their own, hence representing a ‘true farm practice’. Results indicated that maize yield increased linearly with increasing plant population at harvest at both sites. On average, an increase in plant population at harvest by 1000 plants ha–1 resulted in an increase in maize yield of 90 and 63 kg ha–1 at Kasungu and Sussundenga, respectively. The greatest maize yields were obtained when plant population at harvest exceeded 40 000 plants ha–1. Yet, the plant population at harvest was below the generally recommended optimum for most of the cropping systems studied and in most growing seasons. Furthermore, the use of agronomic practices alone without conservation agriculture (i.e., improved varieties, fertilizer management, and timely weed control) resulted in maize yield gains of as much as 54% and 43% relative to the ‘true farm practice’ at Kasungu and Sussundenga, respectively. Overall, the proportion of these yield increases relative to the ‘true farm practice’ accounted for by agronomic practices amounted to 53–70% and 57–85% at Kasungu and Sussundenga for the highest to the lowest-yielding cropping system. Although conservation agriculture significantly improved maize yield at both sites, such increases were smaller in magnitude compared to the yield gains derived from improved agronomic practices. The study suggests that considerable strides toward narrowing maize yield gaps in Southern Africa can be achieved through improvement of current crop management practices, let alone adhering to the conservation agriculture principles of minimum tillage, residue retention, and crop diversification.

The poverty impacts of improved soybean technologies in Malawi

ABSTRACT Improved soybean varieties and agronomic practices have been widely disseminated to smallholder farmers in Malawi over the last 15 years. However, there is no empirical evidence on the welfare impacts of adopting improved soybean technologies. This paper estimated the poverty impacts of adopting improved soybean technologies using data from 1,234 households in six soybean growing districts accounting for over 80% of the total soybean production in the country. The results from an endogenous switching regression model showed that 32% of the sample households adopted improved soybean varieties and agronomic practices. The adoption benefits were higher for female-headed households and increased with the household head’s education and cultivated land areas. A comparison of the observed and counterfactual incomes for adopters based on the international poverty line of US$1.90 per capita per day showed a 4.16 percentage-point reduction in poverty among the sample households, translating to over 150,000 people lifted out of poverty. The household head’s education level, household size, cultivated land area, livestock size, and asset ownership are associated with the daily per capita income. The results point to the need for scaling up of improved soybean varieties and agronomic practices for greater impacts on poverty reduction among smallholders in Malawi.

Agricultural Resources and Trade Strategies: Response to Falling Land-to-Labor Ratios in Malawi

This study assesses how growing land scarcity relative to family labor is influencing farm household decisions to trade in agricultural land and labor markets to improve their livelihood. Using the farm household model, I analyze decisions to rent-in land or hire out labor among smallholders in Malawi. I use data from two rounds of a nationally representative balanced-household panel and apply a systems approach to jointly estimate land rental and labor market decisions while controlling for simultaneity and unobserved heterogeneity. The results indicate that the falling owned-land-to-labor-endowment ratio can push households to participate in either land rental or seasonal agricultural labor markets. However, the probability of hiring out labor for casual work and short-term gains decreases when potential tenant households rent-in land. Based on asset-wealth-to-labor-endowment ratios, wealthier households are more likely to rent-in land while poorer households, including most smallholder households, are more likely to hire out labor. These results suggest higher friction in the land rental market compared to the agricultural labor markets and liquidity constraints dictating what is necessary to support agricultural operations and household needs. Accordingly, agricultural policy in Malawi should aim to reduce friction in factor markets.

Smallholder Farmers and Climate Smart Agriculture: Technology and Labor-productivity Constraints amongst Women Smallholders in Malawi

Climate change and variability present a major challenge to agricultural production and rural livelihoods, including livelihoods of women smallholder farmers. There are significant efforts underway to develop, deploy, and scale up Climate-Smart Agricultural (CSA) practices and technologies to facilitate climate change adaptation for farmers. However, there is a need for gender analysis of CSA practices across different farming and cultural systems to facilitate adoption by, and livelihood improvements for, women smallholder farmers. Climate change poses challenges for maintaining and improving agricultural and labor productivity of women smallholder farmers. The labor productivity of many women smallholders is constrained by lack of access to labor-saving technologies and the most basic of farm tools. Poorer smallholders face a poverty trap, due to low agricultural and labor productivity, from which they cannot easily escape without access to key resources such as rural energy and labor-saving technologies. In Malawi, the agricultural system is predominantly rainfed and largely composed of smallholders who remain vulnerable to climate change and variability shocks. Despite the aspirations of women smallholders to engage in CSA, our research highlights that many women smallholders have either limited or no access to basic agricultural tools, transport, and rural energy. This raises the question of whether the future livelihood scenarios for such farmers will consist of barely surviving or “hanging in”; or whether such farmers can “step up” to adapt better to future climate constraints; or whether more of these farmers will “step out” of agriculture. We argue that for women smallholder farmers to become more climate change resilient, more serious attention to gender analysis is needed to address their constraints in accessing basic agricultural technologies, combined with participatory approaches to develop and adapt CSA tools and technologies to their needs in future climates and agro-ecologies.

Association between irrigated farming and improved nutrition in farm households in Malawi

ABSTRACTMore intensive use of Malawi's water and agricultural land resources through increased irrigation is expected to enable Malawians gain greater access to more food and a more diverse range of foods. The nutritional status of the nutritionally vulnerable in Malawian communities should improve in consequence. However, there is little evidence from Malawi or elsewhere to confirm whether irrigation improves nutritional status at household level. Using data from the Third Malawi Integrated Household Survey of 2010/11, this article presents a basic assessment of whether increased use of irrigated farming by smallholders in Malawi might result in better nutritional outcomes for children in Malawian farm households and more diverse diets in these households. The association between the use of irrigation by farm households and the growth performance of their children aged six months to five years was positive but weak and not significant (P>0.05). The positive association between irrigated farming and the diversity in the foods consumed by farm households was somewhat stronger and significant (P<0.05). In particular, irrigation is shown to be an important component in reducing seasonality in household dietary diversity.

An Innovative Approach to Integrated Training for Smallholder Dairying

Purpose: This paper assesses an integrated approach in smallholder dairy training through a partnership between Malawi and Scotland.Design/ methodology/ approach: Acute staff shortages and inadequate expertise hamper progress in Malawi's smallholder dairy production despite its potential to substantially contribute to sustainable household income, food and nutritional security. An integrated training initiative trained farmers, extension workers, development managers, researchers and trainers and graduate students (MSc, MPhil, PhD, and Postdoctoral). To date eight graduate students and one post-doctoral scientist have been associated with this programme. Twenty-two experts have exchanged visits between Scotland and Malawi. A total of 28 lead farmers and 43 extension workers have been trained in forage production, feeding, animal breeding and recording.Practical implications: In an evaluation of the programmes, 76% of farmers indicated that they had accessed animal breeding services, and there was a drop of 69% and 34% in milk lost due to mastitis and adulteration, respectively. Three of the MSc students trained in this programme have been recruited as lecturers at Bunda College.Originality/ value: Through this initiative, a practical diploma course in dairy science has been established in Malawi and a flexible programme for life-long learning is envisaged in the future. Both the integrated approach and the partnership model can be used in other countries across the world to enhance local agricultural education and extension.

Tobacco Marketing Institutions and Smallholders in Malawi

Tobacco Marketing Institutions and Smallholders in Malawi

The Impact of Maize Price Fluctuation on Smallholders in Malawi

The Impact of Maize Price Fluctuation on Smallholders in Malawi

マラウィにおける食糧増産を目的とした小農的作付け体系に関する一考察

マラウィにおける食糧増産を目的とした小農的作付け体系に関する一考察

‘Green Gold’?: Burley Tobacco, Smallholder Agriculture, and Poverty Alleviation in Malawi

The abolition in 1990 of the estate monopoly on cultivation of burley tobacco is expected to play an important role in reducing poverty among smallholders in Malawi. A nationwide survey in 1993 shows that smallholder households cultivating burley also grow more hybrid maize, use more fertilizer, and are more food-secure. But resource-poor households—particularly those headed by women—face land and labor constraints on burley adoption. Burley and hybrid maize increase the demand for hired labor, but not enough to absorb the growth in the rural labor force. Broad-based poverty alleviation requires technology and programs targeted at the majority of smallholders with holdings of 0.5 hectares or less.

Coffee pest and disease management options for smallholders in Malawi

The main source of income for up to 9000 smallholders in northern Malawi is coffee, yields of which are affected by insect pests, namely white stem borer ( Monochamus leuconotus) and green scale ( Coccus alpinus), and diseases – coffee berry disease ( Colletotrichum kahawae) and leaf rust ( Hemileia vastatrix). Economic liberalisation in Malawi has removed subsidies from inputs and without credit schemes from the Smallholder Coffee Authority the use of commercial pesticides and fertiliser on coffee by smallholders has declined. Smallholder coffee in Malawi has been of high quality and if this can be maintained, there is potential for increased productivity. Pest and disease management will be an important part of the improved management systems which will be needed if coffee yields are to increase. This paper describes the main pest management problems facing smallholders and some of the management options available to them using data collected in a survey of smallholder coffee, conducted as part of a project to collect baseline data for the development of an IPM programme.

The use of national sample surveys for nutritional surveillance: Lessons from Malawi's national sample survey of agriculture

National sample surveys, containing measurements of the weights and heights of children along with other socioeconomic modules, represent one of the important sources of information for nutritional surveillance. The potential uses of such information are political sensitization, targeting by geographic area, targeting by socioeconomic group, and identifying the most promising intervention options according to the presumed causes of malnutrition. The latter two applications depend upon the ability to detect stable associations between nutritional status and socioeconomic factors. This paper examines the extent to which these planning applications are affected by variation in the ecology of malnutrition across different segments of society, using Malawi's National Sample Survey of Agriculture (NSSA). The NSSA is nationally representative of Malawi's smallholder sector and contains information on anthropometrics of underfives and various socioeconomic characteristics of their households. This analysis is based upon 3000 households containing at least one underfive, with one child per household being selected for analysis. Height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) are calculated using WHO standards, and analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Variation in nutritional ecology is investigated by examining statistical interactions among socioeconomic variables as they relate to HAZ and by comparing ANOVA models constructed within several sample strata. These strata are defined according to geographic region, size of cultivated area, child's sex, child's age and, for a subsample, erhnic/religious identification. The results demonstrate that significant two-way interactions exist between region, cultivated area, household labor availability and age of the child. For the total sample HAZ declines with increasing cultivated area among young children (<24 months) but improves with increasing cultivated area among older children (⪖ 24 months). the overall trend for young children is region-specific, however, such that no generalizations can be made concerning the effects of region and cultivated area without taking the other factor and child's age into account. Similarly, cultivated area interacts with household labor availability among young children, such that more labor is associated with lower HAZ on plots less than 0.7 ha, but more labor is associated with higher HAZ on plots above 1.5 ha. The existence of variation in nutritional ecology is further borne out by the observed variation in multivariabe ANOVA models constructed within various sample strata. It is concluded that significant variation in nutritional ecology does exist between various segments of society. This limits the usefulness of national sample surveys for selecting intervention options and for targeting interventions according to socioeconomic characteristics.

The organisation of Malawi's small holder sugar production under irrigation

The Small holder Sugar Authority (SSA) in Malawi was established with funds from the Malawi Government (MG) and the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) with the objective of increasing small holder involvement in commercial farming in order to generate small holder income. The paper gives a short outline of the background to the project and a description of small holder selection and implemented farm activities. In assessing the performance of the project to date and its future viability the paper highlights the importance of world sugar price projections and yield improvements.

Estimating fertilizer demand and output supply for Malawi's smallholder agriculture

Implementing both a two-step procedure to separate substitution and expansion effects and a single equation method, the demand for fertilizer and output (maize and tobacco) response for Malawi's smallholder farmers have been estimated. The own-price elasticities for fertilizer, maize and tobacco are −0·82,1·08 and 0·46 from the two-step procedure compared with −1·08, 1·60 and 0·60, respectively, using the single equation procedure derived from the indirect profit function. Even though the expansion effects are not of the same order of magnitude as the substitution effects, the results demonstrate that, indeed, some adjustment in input or output occurs through expansion effects. The econometric analysis also reveals that the response of fertilizer demand and output supply to own prices is much higher than cross-price responses. This study finds insignificant statistical effect of fertilizer price on maize and tobacco outputs. However, the prices of these products significantly influence fertilizer consumption.