If Malawi’s fertilizer subsidy program aims to increase food security in the country, it should strive to target the most productive farmers. Subsidy levels can be set to self-target this group of farmers.

The market price of fertilizer in Malawi has, in nominal terms, more than tripled compared to two years ago.

Malawi’s Affordable Inputs Program (AIP) currently combines an economic and a social objective, respectively: (i) increasing agricultural production; and (ii) assisting poor farming households.

While contract farming provides opportunities to link smallholder farmers to markets, its sustainability depends on how the interests of both farmers and buyers are addressed.

This policy note explores priorities for investment in irriga-tion in Malawi, and examines the trade-offs between invest-ment in new irrigation infrastructure, versus rehabilitation and maintenance of existing irrigation infrastructure.

Malawi has the potential to reorient its smallholder agriculture away from being primarily directed towards assuring household subsistence and self-sufficiency to increased commercial production, including of soyabean.

The Government of Malawi put in place the National Extension Policy in 2000 to promote the provision of quality agricultural extension services.

In 2011, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) collected data for the final round of a panel survey to

Achieving food self-sufficiency on a national basis is a high priority for the government of Malawi.