Agricultural development in Malawi faces an important conundrum. While agriculture is the backbone of the economy, many smallholders will not be able to farm their way out of poverty.

Malawi has suffered from weak economic growth since its independence in 1964. Over 50 percentof the population live below the poverty line, unable to produce enough or to otherwise obtain suffi cient income to meet all of their basic needs.

By directing increasing shares of their farm production to the market and, thereby, realizing greater incomes, farming households can accelerate local rural economic development.

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.

Social safety nets are designed to protect vulnerable households and individuals from the impact of economic shocks, natural disasters, and other crises. However, targeting of vulnerable households is difficult and therefore often ineffective.

Contract farming is emerging as an important governance structure in certain agricultural value chains.

Using panel data econometric techniques, this paper evaluates how public expenditure influences agricultural performance at the district level in Malawi by empirically estimating localized expenditure multipliers for the districts.

This paper considers potential strategic options for agriculture and development in Malawi in the context of the country’s current situation and the prospects the country faces.

This study analyzed the determinants of crop diversification as well as the factors influencing the extent of crop diversification by smallholder farmers in Southern province.