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How diversified is cropping in Malawi? Patterns, determinants and policy implications

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Abstract

Micro- and macroeconomic evidence suggest that the promotion of agricultural diversification in agriculture-based developing countries is beneficial. At the microeconomic level, increased agricultural diversification promotes human nutrition and raises household incomes, while allowing farmers to adapt to the challenges posed by climate change. Using Malawi as a case study, we analyzed the recent patterns and determinants of farm level crop diversification in order to better understand how policies impact on diversification and how they can be better formulated or implemented to effectively promote diversification. The study used descriptive and econometric approaches to study crop diversification. Data from two nationally representative household surveys, which covered cropping seasons in 2004/05 and 2010/11, show that crop diversification has deteriorated nationally in different Agricultural Development Divisions (ADDs), although beneficiaries of the widely-implemented Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) have become more diversified. The study also found that crop diversification varies significantly across agro-ecological zones. Results also indicate that deliberately targeted policies lead to more commercially orientated crop diversification. We conclude that further crop diversification could be promoted among different types of farmers with the aim of contributing to economic growth, risk reduction, and nutrition security in Malawi.

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Notes

  1. The term crop diversification should not be confused with crop diversity. Crop diversity is more correctly used in the context of variance in the genetic characteristics of agricultural plant species and as such is an aspect of biodiversity. Crop diversification, as explained in the text, relates to the expansion of the number of activities undertaken within an agricultural production system, in this instance, the number of crops cultivated.

  2. We introduced crop diversification indexes later in the study. The basic principle, however, is that a farming household with two crop enterprises is more diversified than one with only one crop enterprise. Furthermore, a household with two crop enterprises where each crop is allocated half of the total cropland is considered more diversified than a household that allocates 90% of land to one crop and 10% to another (Joshi et al. 2003).

  3. The Malawi Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) started in 2005 in order to stimulate effective demand for agricultural inputs and achieve food self-sufficiency by subsidizing fertilizer, maize and legume seed to smallholder farmers (Chibwana 2013).

  4. Legumes are the most widely intercropped crops.

  5. In all cases in this paper, we advise and conform to the strict interpretation of the p-value according to Wasserstein and Lazar (2016).

  6. An ADD is a geographic region covering districts that have similar agro-ecological characteristics. In Malawi, there are 8 ADDs, 28 districts and 3 regions. Regions are larger than ADDs while ADDs are larger than districts.

  7. Karonga has around 766,500 ha of land while Salima has 650,000 ha. Blantyre has over one million ha, while Mzuzu is the largest ADD, with close to two million hectares. An anomaly here is Shire Valley, which only has 685,000 ha but is the second most diversified region in Malawi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3 D, 53113, Bonn, Germany

    Henry Kankwamba

  2. Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi

    Henry Kankwamba

  3. Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Mariam Kadzamira

  4. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Karl Pauw

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  1. Henry Kankwamba
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  2. Mariam Kadzamira
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  3. Karl Pauw
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Correspondence to Henry Kankwamba.

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Kankwamba, H., Kadzamira, M. & Pauw, K. How diversified is cropping in Malawi? Patterns, determinants and policy implications. Food Sec. 10, 323–338 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-018-0771-x

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