DETERMINANTS OF FARMERS’WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR SUBSIDISED FARMINPUTS IN MALAWI

This study uses the standard Tobit model to calculate both average household and aggregate willingness topay (WTP)forsubsidisedfertilizersin Malawi and it traces the determinantsoffarmers’ WTP for the inputs.The results reveal that smallholder farmers are willing to pay for more inputs in the Farm Input SubsidyProgramme (FISP) withthe mean householdWTPat MK1000beingaboutten50kgfertilizerbags and thetotal WTP at the same price being46891 bags per yearfor4742observedhouseholds. Significantdeterminants of WTP include farm size,food security andradio ownership

The effects of remittances on household food nutrition security in the context of multiple shocks in Malawi

AbstractThe increase in the incidence and intensity of multiple shocks emanating from various fronts has left households vulnerable to various upheavals, case in point, food shortage—a prerequisite of food insecurity and poor nutrition. In analysing the nexus between remittances and food security and nutrition in the context of shocks, the paper adopts and links the household utility framework to the insurance hypothesis from the new economic labour migration theory. Using the coping strategy index, food consumption score, and household dietary diversity, we assess the effects of remittances on food security and nutrition in the context of shocks. The novelty of this paper is the creation of a shock index that captures the intensity of correlated multiple shocks that affect households. We concomitantly capture overall remittances, and disaggregated the remittances based on form and location. By employing integrated household survey round 5 data, and various econometric techniques, the paper finds that remittances are only effective in improving household food and nutrition security for households facing more intense multiple shocks but have no effect on dietary diversity. The paper therefore reveals the importance of remittances as a strategy in combating food insecurity and poor nutrition in the context of household shocks

The impact of credit access on household food security in Malawi

This observational study examines the impact of access to either formal or informal credit on household food security in a credit-constrained developing country context of Malawi. Using the fifth Integrated Household Survey (IHS5), the study employs the Endogenous Regime Switching (ERS) approach and the Tobit regression model, in light of potential endogeneity between credit access and food security. Regression results show that key determinants of access to formal credit include education attainment and household size, whereas determinants of informal credit access include access to extension services, landholding size, household size and exposure to shocks. The study finds that although access to formal credit improves household food security, access to informal credit worsens food security within the context. Various policy implications are drawn from these results