At Work Around the World

Malawi

Unstable market conditions in Malawi, the world's largest maize producer, have led 25 percent of farmers in the nation to end maize cultivation. The Carter Center and its partners are working to help Malawi build hope amid the crisis.


Building Hope

Food shortages and famine throughout Africa have posed significant threats to political and social stability. In the late 1990s, Malawians watched as insufficient rains and price fluctuations made staple crops such as maize less and less appealing to farmers for cultivation. Malawi's government invited The Carter Center to help avert disaster by assisting with agricultural development programs to stave off the worst effects of drought and prevent a food crisis.


Fighting Disease

Increasing Food Production

Since 1999, The Carter Center has been working in partnership with the Malawian Ministry of Agriculture to improve food security. Huge swings in Malawi's maize prices have been a major disincentive for farmers to invest in maize production, the country's staple food crop. The African food crisis in 2002, worsened by the drought that hit southern Africa, was partly to blame for this price fluctuation, and price swings have continued.

Maize accounts for half of the national cropping area in Malawi, the largest per capita producer of maize in the world. However, unstable market conditions already have driven large-scale farmers, who previously accounted for 25 percent of maize production, to end maize cultivation in the nation altogether. The Sasakawa-Global 2000 Program is currently working with the regional Agricultural Development Division under the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in six of the eight divisions to demonstrate that small-scale farmers across the country can make up for this shortage, achieving large yields with the use of fertilizer, drought-resistant maize, and other techniques.

Since the program began, more than 16,000 maize management training plots have been planted. The project also promotes the improved technologies to small-scale farmers through farm field schools. These schools work closely with local agricultural departments to discuss and explain the techniques being used in demonstration and management training plots, the importance of land preparation and conservation tillage, the planting dates for different regions, and the recommendations for maize. Training also covers soybeans, pigeon peas, rice, and wheat production technologies as part of promoting crop diversification.

Adopting new cultivation technologies to improve crop yields is only half the battle as farmers then must find ways to sell their surplus crops. For example, in 2003, local currency devaluation was a major problem for farmers. As a result, there was an increase in the cost of fertilizers in 2004.
These circumstances later led to maize scarcity in Malawi. Many farmers were storing their harvest in their local granaries, expecting to get better prices, only to find that concerned international nongovernmental organizations were distributing their own reserves of maize. Thus, farmers who tried to sell maize found it was surplus to market needs, and prices dropped dramatically. At the end of the day, the farmers were the losers, with many not prepared to invest in the necessary seeds and fertilizers for the next farming season.

Although Malawi remains an importer of maize, the program is making headway, and the future of the staple crop is looking hopeful. Loan recovery in Malawi has reached around 90 percent, which is excellent considering the pressures on farmers to produce enough food despite insufficient and delayed rainfall. Conservation agriculture, which addresses problems of soil fertility and water conservation, is also proving increasingly popular with Malawi's farmers. Some 150 management training plots using these techniques were established in 2003.

In Malawi, SG 2000 is working with government agencies and maintains a field office. The program also has encouraged the use of quality protein maize for better nutrition. In 2002, QPM yields, using SG 2000 techniques, exceeded traditional maize yields. If all maize in 2002 had been QPM, Malawi would have produced enough maize to meet its needs.