Study warns agriculture spending undermines long-term resilience

Malawi’s food system is structurally misfinanced, locking the country into repeated food insecurity, weak agricultural productivity and fragile economic growth, a new policy brief by the Mwapata Institute warns. The brief, titled “Policy Lessons for Localising the Food Systems Transformation Agenda in Malawi” by Anderson Gondwe, Dinah T. Salonga and Levison Chiwaula, shows that public agricultural spending remains heavily skewed towards maize subsidies at the expense of productivity-enhancing investments.

According to the study, about 41 percent of Malawi’s on-budget agricultural spending between 2016/17 and 2021/22 went to variable inputs such as fertiliser and seed subsidies, while irrigation received just six percent, extension services six percent and research and training only four percent. The authors argue that this spending pattern entrenches a narrow maize-dominated food system that struggles to withstand climate shocks, deliver nutrition gains or support private sector growth. Malawi’s food system remains central to its broader macroeconomic stability, with maize production directly influencing inflation, household incomes and fiscal pressures.

But the Mwapata analysis suggests that persistent underinvestment in agricultural enablers is undermining long-term resilience. In an earlier interview, Mwapata Institute executive director William Chadza said stronger integration of research evidence into policy implementation is critical if Malawi is to break this cycle. He added that addressing constraints such as access to land, credit, technology and support services would allow the country to harness its youthful population and transform agriculture into a productive growth engine.

[paywall]

The study’s findings come as government signals intentions to shift agricultural investment priorities. Speaking during pre-budget consultations in Lilongwe, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha acknowledged the need to tackle supply-side constraints. “We know that the agriculture sector is important.

And maize, our main product, is key to economic indicators such as inflation. We need to invest more in these areas and ensure that the investment is used effectively to achieve meaningful results,” he said. The food system’s structural imbalance is increasingly becoming a fiscal risk, as recurrent subsidy spending crowds out investment in irrigation infrastructure, research, storage, logistics and agro-processing — sectors considered critical for stabilising food supply and supporting exports.

The Mwapata brief also highlights weak decentralisation and limited enforcement of food safety, environmental and waste management standards as key institutional bottlenecks affecting agricultural productivity and competitiveness. Speaking at a tour of a Agriculture Minister Rosa Mbilizi has previously emphasised the importance of building human capital and entrepreneurship capacity to drive agricultural transformation, particularly among young people and women.

[/paywall]