The efficiency of maize farming in Malawi. A bootstrapped translog frontier

We measure the level and determinants of technical efficiency of maize based smallholder farmersusing a bootstrapped translog stochastic frontier that is a posteriori checked for functional consistency. The resultsshow that higher levels of technical efficiency are obtained when farmers use integrated soil fertility optionscompared to the use of inorganic fertilizer only. With respect to the policy variables considered in the analysis,access to agricultural input and output markets, credit provision and extension services strongly influencesmallholders’ technical efficiency. There is a need to strengthen these public policy issues in order to effectivelyaddress the efficiency of Malawian agriculture and its impact on poverty by ensuring sustainable soil fertilitymanagement

Reconciling household goals in southern African woodlands using weighted goal programming

Weighted goal programming (WGP) is employed to reconcile the goals of food security, improved incomes and woodland conservation in households from selected sites in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The three goals are attainable simultaneously, albeit with trade-offs useful in guiding development of rural development policies. The WGP model provides a framework for evaluating impact, on the household goals and woodland condition, of some macroeconomic and sectoral policies and demographic changes. Keywords: goal programming, woodlands, households, simulation, southern Africa