Determinants of smallholder maize supply to private traders and profitability: evidence from lilongwe district in central Malawi

This study was devoted to estimate profitability and various determinants of quantities of maize sold to private traders by smallholder farmers in Lilongwe district. Multiple Regression analysis was employed to test various determinants of quantities of maize sold to private traders. Gross margin analysis was used to estimate economic returns realized by the smallholder maize farmers supplying their produce to exporting traders. The findings of the study revealed that income level of the household, household size, access to extension service, education level of household head, size of land under maize production and price of maize were important determinants of quantities of maize that a given household sold to private traders. The gross margin per Malawi Kwacha invested was MK2.98.Determinants, gross margin, selling maize, smallholder farmers, private traders

Does Cooking Technology Matter? Fuelwood Use and Efficiency of Different Cooking Technologies in Lilongwe District, Malawi

Biomass, mainly firewood and charcoal contributes over 90% of Malawi’s total energy demand. As a result, deforestation is increasing at unprecedented rate and firewood is becoming scarce. Individual assessment of various cooking technologies has been widely done without comparison of various cooking technologies. Therefore, this study has been devoted to compare the performance, cooking time and fuelwood usage of the three-stone fireplace, Rocket and Chitetezo cooking technologies. The study used Specific Fuel consumption (SC) as a proxy for principal indicator of cooking technology efficiency. It measures the amount of wood used per kg of food. Rocket stove has been found to use less time, less fuelwood and produces less smoke.Cooking Technology, Fuelwood, Stove Efficiency

Poultry production and rural poverty among small-scale farmers in Mzimba District of Malawi

This paper evaluates the role of participating in poultry production on household income and rural poverty in Mzimba district, Malawi. The study utilizes cross-sectional farm level household data collected in 2011. The paper computes income-based poverty measures and investigates their sensitivity to the use of different poverty lines. Robust poverty comparisons across the poultry and non-poultry farmers reveal that poverty is in fact higher for the non-poultry compared to the poultry farmers. Thus, participating in poultry production has a significant positive impact on household income and poverty reduction

Poultry production and rural poverty among small-scale farmers in Mzimba District of Malawi

This paper evaluates the role of participating in poultry production on household income and rural poverty in Mzimba district, Malawi. The study utilizes cross-sectional farm level household data collected in 2011. The paper computes income-based poverty measures and investigates their sensitivity to the use of different poverty lines. Robust poverty comparisons across the poultry and non-poultry farmers reveal that poverty is in fact higher for the non-poultry compared to the poultry farmers. Thus, participating in poultry production has a significant positive impact on household income and poverty reduction

Determinants of smallholder maize supply to private traders and profitability: evidence from lilongwe district in central Malawi

This study was devoted to estimate profitability and various determinants of quantities of maize sold to private traders by smallholder farmers in Lilongwe district. Multiple Regression analysis was employed to test various determinants of quantities of maize sold to private traders. Gross margin analysis was used to estimate economic returns realized by the smallholder maize farmers supplying their produce to exporting traders. The findings of the study revealed that income level of the household, household size, access to extension service, education level of household head, size of land under maize production and price of maize were important determinants of quantities of maize that a given household sold to private traders. The gross margin per Malawi Kwacha invested was MK2.98

Determinants of smallholder maize supply to private traders and profitability: evidence from lilongwe district in central Malawi

This study was devoted to estimate profitability and various determinants of quantities of maize sold to private traders by smallholder farmers in Lilongwe district. Multiple Regression analysis was employed to test various determinants of quantities of maize sold to private traders. Gross margin analysis was used to estimate economic returns realized by the smallholder maize farmers supplying their produce to exporting traders. The findings of the study revealed that income level of the household, household size, access to extension service, education level of household head, size of land under maize production and price of maize were important determinants of quantities of maize that a given household sold to private traders. The gross margin per Malawi Kwacha invested was MK2.98

Determinants of smallholder farmers’ demand for purchased inputs in Lilongwe District, Malawi: evidence from Mitundu extension planning area

The aim of this study was to empirically determine the factors that affect smallholder farmers’ demand for purchased fertilizer and seed using cross section data from 160 farmers. Model solutions, which were created by using Translog Cost Function were carried out by Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR). To this end this study revealed that education, field size (plot of land cultivated) and household size have significant negative relationship with the share of fertilizer purchased and positively related with share of seed. Whereas price of output, seed, fertilizer and income of the household are found to be significant and positively related to share of fertilizer and negatively related with share of purchased seed.Translog, Cost, Purchase inputs, Demand

Economic Analysis of Groundnut Production in Kasungu District, Malawi: A production Economics Approach

This study was rolled out to assess resource use efficiency in small scale groundnut production in Kasungu district. A household survey was administered to 42 groundnut farmers in Northern part of Kasungu district. The study has established that a farmers return MK2 for every Kwacha invested. The farmer incurs MK95 for every Kg of groundnut produced. The foregoing analysis of production function indicated that farm size, seed and labour are the important factors of production that affect groundnut output in the study area. The regression coefficients of these inputs were positive and statistically significant. Farm size had the highest MVPs as compared to other inputs. Seed was the second production factor with higher MVP indicating that farmers can increase their groundnut output by using optimal seedrate. The main constraints to marketing included low output prices and poor (unstandardized) measurement scales

Does Cooking Technology Matter? Fuelwood Use and Efficiency of Different Cooking Technologies in Lilongwe District, Malawi

Biomass, mainly firewood and charcoal contributes over 90% of Malawi’s total energy demand. As a result, deforestation is increasing at unprecedented rate and firewood is becoming scarce. Individual assessment of various cooking technologies has been widely done without comparison of various cooking technologies. Therefore, this study has been devoted to compare the performance, cooking time and fuelwood usage of the three-stone fireplace, Rocket and Chitetezo cooking technologies. The study used Specific Fuel consumption (SC) as a proxy for principal indicator of cooking technology efficiency. It measures the amount of wood used per kg of food. Rocket stove has been found to use less time, less fuelwood and produces less smoke

Farm Household Production Efficiency in Southern Malawi: An Efficiency Decomposition Approach

The present study was set out to estimate production efficiency of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L) farmers in the southern region of Malawi’s through efficiency decomposition. A random sample of 72 small-scale farmers was drawn from Balaka district. The findings revealed that farmers in Balaka district have opportunity for productivity gains and cost saving. Mean technical, economic and allocated efficiency were found to be 0.70, 0.57 and 0.82, respectively. Factors like education and credit access augment technical efficiency while credit access, farmer group membership and gender (being male) augment economic and allocative efficiency. Policy thrust like linking small scale farmers to micro-finance institutions for credit access, intensifying family planning programs to reduce family sizes, organizing small scale farmers into groups (cooperatives) and  integrating women into training and extension programs would increase production efficiency of small-scale tomato farming in southern Malawi. Keywords: Decomposition, Malawi, production efficiency, production frontier, tomat