Food situation in rural Malawi Assessing the food situation: –Food self-sufficiency – months that households have food to eat from their own production –Buying food – when households resorted to the market to access food –Food security – when households had enough food from own production OR buying

Food self-sufficiency

Households buying food

Food insecurity Moderate indicators 1.Eating nsima from green maize (chitibu) 2.Eating madeya/gaga 3.Eating only fruit 4.Eating only vegetables 5.Eating only sugar cane Extreme indicators 1.Eating nsima from maize cobs 2.Eating only wild roots and tubers 3.Eating only wild fruit, mushrooms, etc 4.Eating nothing for the whole day

Malawi

Southern region

Central region

Northern region

Food security and crops grown Grouping districts by staple foods grown: Crop diversification enhances food security, growing maize only increases risk of food crisis

Next season ( ) Will the food situation be better or worse than last season? When will the crisis begin? How can we respond? –The short term –The long term

Source: TIP Evaluation and MoAI/FEWS

Source: MoAI/FEWS

The maize deficit maize deficit around 600,000 tonnes maize deficit will be around 780,000 tonnes The estate sector is too small to offset the deficit – and did not respond to price incentive in Underproduction of maize will again put severe upward pressure on food prices High food prices will FI/EFI, undermining education, health and development programmes The hungry period will begin earlier than last year Food imports (food aid) may help – but not enough

Addressing underproduction - the medium term response (starting now!) A strategy is needed to strengthen weak purchasing power of smallholder farmers Meanwhile, free inputs can help production Universal SP is value for money compared with food imports (cost of SP about 1/4 cost of importing) Targeting 1/2 or 1/3 of farmers does not work and undermines community structures Near-universal is feasible (communities could agree to it) – South 89%, Centre 87%, North 60% but near-universal will not maximise production