Policy Brief

Based on production and export data, groundnut has the potential to contribute to Malawi’s agricultural diversification agenda, for both food and export purposes. According to key informants interviewed, the main challenges faced in the groundnut value chain are high aflatoxin contamination, limited access to improved seed, and limited access to structured markets. Policy options should focus on addressing issues that limit productivity and strategies for mitigating aflatoxin contamination considering their threat to food and nutrition security, public health, and access to higher-value markets. Future research should focus on how to best alleviate the identified constraints and harness opportunities for contributing to the country's agricultural diversification agenda not only in the groundnut value chain but also for other crops.

A large share of Malawian households faces multiple shocks which affect their welfare. There is a need to develop programs that increase household resilience against the recurring weather-related disasters and adversities such as promotion of climate smart technologies and practices. As a coping mechanism, most households resort to using own savings, while a significant number of households do nothing.  Social safety nets and farm input subsidies play a significant role in cushioning households against shocks, but the current programmes are hampered by poor targeting hence not fully benefiting the intended poor households. The government and development partners should develop better ways of targeting of the existing social safety nets and input subsidy programmes so as to benefit the deserving and intended poor households.

Despite the adaptation and mitigation measures that have been put in place to counter the negative effects of climate change and food insecurity, more than 57.8 million people in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) population need food assistance in 2023 due to poor harvests (APA 2023). In Botswana, alone, close to 37,000 people need food assistance (FAO, 2022). This comes against the backdrop of declining agricultural productivity attributed to several factors including high cost of inputs, high incidence of pests and diseases, low input use and extreme weather conditions such as droughts, floods, and erratic rainfalls (FAO 2022).

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