Socio-economic context and role of agriculture

alawi is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, with an economy driven predominantly by the agricultural sector that accounts for one third of the GDP and nearly 80 percent of employment. Agriculture is considered the engine of Malawi’s economic growth since, between 2005 and 2011, more than 80 percent of the country’s total exports were agricultural commodities, primarily tobacco, sugar and tea. Tobacco alone however, represents an average 60 percent of Malawi ́s total exports.1 The manufacturing and agricultural sectors work together in their contribution to the overall growth of the economy, which in 2013/14, registered an average GDP growth rate of 5.2 percent. In particular, the 2013 growth in manufacturing was attributed to usage of higher volumes of raw agricultural inputs and a more constant supply of fuel and other raw materials.