Assessing the profitability and feasibility of climate-smart agriculture investment in Southern Malawi

This working paper analyses the financial cost and benefit of adopting two different bundles of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices, which are tailored for the diverse conditions that prevail in southern Malawi. The results show the integration of CSA practices, including soil conservation, agroforestry, and livestock diversification, into conventional maize-legume and maize monocrop systems is profitable for farmers. Moreover, the profitability of these systems increases under extreme weather conditions that occur with increasing frequency in the region. However, the upfront costs and cost variability associated with the adoption of these CSA scenarios is high relative to conventional practices. In addition, while the Net Present Value is positive for the CSA scenarios, the monetary returns are small and are spread over a long investment period. These factors act as significant barriers to adopting CSA practices. Supporting farmers through climate financing or other mechanisms to make long-term private investment in CSA, based on the public benefits these investments generate for the environment, is critical for achieving widespread adoption

Malawi’s Maize Marketing System

National food security in Malawi depends on improving the performance of maize markets. Ensuring that grain is consistently available at tolerable prices is crucial for consumers’ food security. At the same time, surplus producing farmers need to receive farm-gate prices consistently above production costs to intensify the use of fertilizer and other productivity enhancing technologies in a sustainable manner. These concerns give rise to the classic food price dilemma for policy makers in Malawi: how to keep prices low enough to ensure low income consumers’ access to food while keeping prices high enough to promote farm production incentives. These tensions cannot be avoided but they can be relieved through reducing food marketing margins, which shrink the wedge between producer and consumer prices. Moreover, Malawi faces major political and economic problems associated with food price instability especially given its dependence on rain fed agriculture in a region prone to drought. These issues show that improving the performance of maize markets is at the core of achieving sustainable food security and poverty reduction in Malawi.food security, Malawi, maize, marketing, food policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Marketing, q12, q18,

Cash transfers and women's economic inclusion

This paper investigates whether an increase in exogenous income through the Child Grants model of the Social Cash Transfer programme in Zambia fosters economic inclusion among rural women. We conceptualize economic inclusion as a transformative process comprised of four pillars: productive capacity, financial inclusion, social power, and psychological assets. Using experimental data, we find strong evidence of direct impacts of the Child Grant on the productive capacity, financial inclusion, and psychological assets of rural women. In addition to these direct impacts, we implement a mediation analysis to explore the potential mediating role of psychological assets in affecting the other pillars of economic inclusion. Through this approach, we find indicative evidence of indirect and mutually reinforcing relationships between changes in psychological assets brought about through the Child Grant and improvements in the productive capacity and financial inclusion of beneficiaries. Such results suggest that cash transfers might be effective in promoting women’s economic inclusion, both through the direct monetary effect and through the mediated effect of psychological assets

The Politics of Maize in Zambia: Who holds the Keys to Change the Status Quo?

As both the national staple food and primary smallholder crop, maize occupies a central position in Zambia’s agricultural political economy. Despite the government’s large subsidies, maize productivity levels remain way below global averages, maize commercialisation in the smallholder sector remains highly concentrated, maize meal prices are highly volatile, and rural poverty remains high. This study uses a political economy framework to better understand the policy-making process, power structures and dynamics involved in the maize sector in order to get a better understanding of who holds the keys to change, and how to influence agricultural policy changes. Net-Map procedure was used to map the linkages of key players in order to determine critical nodes of policy change. The Executive (Cabinet/State House) was found to wield the most power in commanding the other actors in the sector. However, powerful lobby groups with links to the Executive have often opposed changes to the sector to maintain large rents to their constituency with disregard to the negative effects on the whole sector. In addition, a “Command Triangle” which holds the keys for sustainable policy changes in the maize sector was identified. This command triangle consists of the President, Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture. Hence, in order to bring about long-lasting changes to maize marketing policies in Zambia, there is a need for strong collective action within the command triangle, as it possesses the most influence

Competition Law and Economic Regulation

Shaping markets through competition and economic regulation is at the heart of addressing the development challenges facing countries in southern Africa. The contributors to 'Competition Law And Economic Regulation: Addressing Market Power In Southern Africa' critically assess the efficacy of the competition and economic regulation frameworks, including the impact of a number of the regional competition authorities in a range of sectors throughout southern Africa. Featuring academics as well as practitioners in the field, the book addresses issues common to southern African countries, where markets are small and concentrated, with particularly high barriers to entry, and where the resources to enforce legislation against anti-competitive conduct are limited. What is needed, the contributors argue, is an understanding of competition and regional integration as part of an inclusive growth agenda for Africa. By examining competition and regulation in a single framework, and viewing this within the southern African experience, this volume adds new perspectives to the global competition literature. It is an essential reference tool and will be of great interest to policymakers and regulators, as well as the rapidly growing ecosystem of legal practitioners and economists engaged in the field

GUIDE TO PROMOTING PRODUCTIVE POLICY DIALOGUE IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

The importance of effective and appropriate policies in achieving broader development objectives through agriculture is increasingly being recognized by national governments, development agencies, and supranational institutions. Despite increasing attention to improving the quality of agricultural policy discussions and decision-making, in many ways these efforts are proceeding in the absence of a systematic strategy for how to achieve this. This paper provides a practical guide for applied policy researchers and other stakeholders engaged in agricultural policy reform in developing countries. It draws on a case study from Zambia to provide a set of tools and strategies to improve the effectiveness of policy engagement. This guide consolidates years of practical experiences with agricultural policy dialogue and change garnered primarily through Michigan State University's collaborative research and policy programs in SubSaharan Africa

Demystifying the Role of Grain Assemblers in the Rural Maize Markets of Eastern and Southern Africa

Two decades after initiating sweeping market reforms in their agricultural sectors, governments across Sub-Saharan Africa continue to maintain an active role in staple food markets. At the heart of this highly interventionist approach to food market development is a persistent and widespread distrust of private sector actors’ participation in food markets. Of all the private sector actors involved in African cereal markets, none has been more maligned or misunderstood than the private traders who assemble grain at the village-level or assembly traders as we refer to them in this paper

Technical Compendium: Descriptive Agricultural Statistics and Analysis for Zambia

This technical compendium was developed to serve as a reference document for development organizations, researchers, government officials, and cooperating partners working in Zambia. It uses nationally representative survey data to provide descriptive trends and analysis relevant to the agricultural sector. It is also specifically targeted for organizations tasked with implementing programs associated with USAID’s Feed the Future (FtF) initiative. As such, a special section is dedicated to Eastern Province, with data disaggregation based on FtF requirements