2019 social accounting matrix for Malawi: A Nexus project SAM

The 2019 Malawi Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) follows IFPRI's Standard Nexus SAM approach, by focusing on consistency, comparability, and transparency of data. The Nexus SAMs available on IFPRI's website separates domestic production into 42 activities. Factors are disaggregated into labor, agricultural land, and capital, with labor further disaggregated across three education-based categories. The household account is divided into 10 representative household groups: Rural and urban households across per capita consumption quintiles. Nexus SAMs support the improvement of model-based research and policy analysis in developing countries and allow for more robust cross-country comparisons of national economic structures, especially agriculture-food systems

Household shocks, infrastructural investments, food and nutrition security linkages in Malawi

Ending extreme hunger requires interaction of both household and community level infrastructural investments. When communities and households are capital infrastructure constrained, effects of extreme events such as droughts can fetter consumption growth and food security. This paper assesses the impact of household shocks on daily per capita food consumption in Malawi. Secondly, the study assesses the impact of community level public infrastructural investment on household food security. The study uses fixed effects regression combined with propensity score matching techniques on a Malawian panel data collected between 2010 and 2016. The study uses three indicators for food security namely food consumption expenditure, the Berry Index of dietary variety and number of days a household went without food. To measure idiosyncratic and covariate shocks, self-reported survey and high-resolution weather station-based data used. To measure infrastructure, survey data, triangulated with remote sensed night time lights, were used to construct an infrastructure index. Results show that while a standard deviation deficit in the one to three-month interval drought reduces consumption by over 80%, access to infrastructure increased consumption by a factor of two during shocks

How much do infrastructural investments mitigate impacts of seasonal shocks on food security?

Ending extreme hunger requires the interaction of both household and community level infrastructural investments. When communities and households are capital infrastructure constrained, the effects of extreme events such as droughts can fetter consumption growth and food security. This paper, assesses the impact of seasonal weather shocks on food security conditional on access to public physical infrastructure. The study uses fixed effects regression techniques on representative Malawian panel data collected between 2010 and 2016. The study uses three key indicators of food security namely food consumption expenditure shares, the Berry Index of dietary variety, and the Shannon Entropy Index. To measure idiosyncratic and covariate shocks, self-reported survey data and high-resolution station based standardized precipitation – evapotranspiration index were used. To measure infrastructure, survey data, triangulated with remote sensed night time lights, were used to construct an infrastructure index in a logistic regression framework. Results show that assuming minimal infrastructure a standard deviation deficit in the one to three-month interval drought reduces consumption by 26%. Assuming normal historical weather conditions, infrastructure improves economic access to food by 15%. Thus, conditional on infrastructure, the impacts of extreme weather events on food security are reduced by 54%

Are sustainable agricultural practices improving output and incomes of smallholder farmers in Malawi

Sustainable agricultural practices could promote agricultural development. They have proven to improve soil structure, moisture content and reduce competition from weeds. There are, however, mixed reactions to the impacts of these technologies. Opponents argue that some technologies are labor intensive, bind nutrients in the soil and decrease crop yields in the short run. This study examines impacts of sustainable intensification strategies on maize output and household full income using random survey data from Malawi. The study employs multinomial endogenous switching regressions on a typology of farm households to isolate direct causal effects of these technologies. It triangulates the results with reduced form propensity score matching. Average Treatment Effects on the Treated are reported. Results indicate that socioeconomic, geographical and plot characteristics influence adoption decisions. Further, farmers who adopt sustainable agricultural practices such as improved seed and soil and water conservation have consistently more farm output and incomes than non-adopting households

SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO INCORPORATE BIOFUEL CROPS INTO CROPPING SYSTEMS IN MALAWI

Using cross-sectional data, this study analysed the critical and significant socioeconomic factors with high likelihood to determine smallholder farmers’ decision and willingness to adopt jatropha into cropping systems in Malawi. Employing desk study and multi-stage random sampling technique a sample of 592 households was drawn from across the country for analysis. A probit model was used for the analysis of determinants of jatropha adoption by smallholder farmers. Empirical findings show that education, access to loan, bicycle ownership and farmers’ expectation of raising socioeconomic status are major significant factors that would positively determine probability of smallholder farmers’ willingness to adopt jatropha as a biofuel crop on the farm. Furthermore, keeping of ruminant herds of livestock, long distance to market and fears of market unavailability have been revealed to have significant negative influence on farmers’ decision and willingness to adopt jatropha. Policy implications for sustainable crop diversification drive are drawn and discussed

SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO INCORPORATE BIOFUEL CROPS INTO CROPPING SYSTEMS IN MALAWI

Using cross-sectional data, this study analysed the critical and significant socioeconomic factors with high likelihood to determine smallholder farmers’ decision and willingness to adopt jatropha into cropping systems in Malawi. Employing desk study and multi-stage random sampling technique a sample of 592 households was drawn from across the country for analysis. A probit model was used for the analysis of determinants of jatropha adoption by smallholder farmers. Empirical findings show that education, access to loan, bicycle ownership and farmers’ expectation of raising socioeconomic status are major significant factors that would positively determine probability of smallholder farmers’ willingness to adopt jatropha as a biofuel crop on the farm. Furthermore, keeping of ruminant herds of livestock, long distance to market and fears of market unavailability have been revealed to have significant negative influence on farmers’ decision and willingness to adopt jatropha. Policy implications for sustainable crop diversification drive are drawn and discussed

2019 social accounting matrix for Malawi: A Nexus project SAM

The 2019 Malawi Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) follows IFPRI's Standard Nexus SAM approach, by focusing on consistency, comparability, and transparency of data. The Nexus SAMs available on IFPRI's website separates domestic production into 42 activities. Factors are disaggregated into labor, agricultural land, and capital, with labor further disaggregated across three education-based categories. The household account is divided into 10 representative household groups: Rural and urban households across per capita consumption quintiles. Nexus SAMs support the improvement of model-based research and policy analysis in developing countries and allow for more robust cross-country comparisons of national economic structures, especially agriculture-food systems.Non-PRIFPRI1; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; G Cross-cutting gender theme; Capacity Strengthening; Nexus SAMsDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Foresight and Policy Modeling (FPM); Transformation Strategie

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

PRIFPRI3; ISI; MaSSP; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; Strengthening Evidence-Based Agricultural Policy (SEBAP); CRP2DSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM

IMPROVED LEGUME SEED DEMAND SYSTEMS IN CENTRAL MALAWI: WHAT DO FARMERS’ SEED EXPENDITURES SAY ABOUT THEIR PREFERENCES?

The overall objective of this paper is to assess the demand for improved groundnut, bean, and soybean seed in central Malawi. Specifically, it examines how smallholder farmers respond to changes in market prices of improved legume seed. It also assesses factors that affect the decision to participate in improved seed technology transfer. Considering four commodities namely groundnuts, beans, soybeans and maize, a staple food, the paper estimates a multivariate probit and a linear approximate of the Almost Ideal Demand System (LA/AIDS) using cross section data collected by ICRISAT in 2010. Uncompensated price and expenditure elasticities are reported for the LA/AIDS model. The paper finds high own price elasticities in all four commodities considered. It also indicates that land, household size and education levels affect participation in improved technology. Cross elasticities varied across the commodities considered. As pertain expenditure elasticities, farmers would increase expenditure on improved groundnut and beans if their incomes increased. The results also reveal that if farmers’ incomes increase they would reduce soybean’s expenditure share. The results generally show that farmers are very sensitive to changes in improved legume seed prices and incomes