24 research outputs found
Pricing farmer contributions under AIP
No full textThe market price of fertilizer in Malawi has, in nominal terms, more than tripled compared to two years ago. The price hikes were both unexpected and beyond the control of the government, linked to global events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This changed global reality reinforces the need to rethink the way in which Malawi approaches its agricultural input subsidies. A number of options for reforming the AIP have been outlined in recent policy work, but all have medium to long term implementation horizons. We will not repeat these here and instead refer the interested reader to Chadza and Duchoslav (2022), De Weerdt and Duchoslav (2022), and Nyondo et al. (2022). This policy note discusses a strategy that can be implemented readily and immediately, potentially still this year, to ensure that the budget allocated to fertilizer subsidies has the highest possible effect on food security in the country. It also discusses how the strategy, once adopted, can be used to phase out the AIP, while ensuring allocative efficiency within the program. This can be achieved by, each year, fixing the budget at a lower point and conducting the same optimization exercise.Non-PRIFPRI1; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; MaSSPDSG
Impacts of the war in Ukraine on Malawi
No full textAlthough geographically distant, there are multiple channels through which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can affect the lives of Malawians. Before the invasion, Russia’s and Ukraine’s exports accounted for about 12% of total calories (Glauber and Laborde, 2022) traded in the world, and the two countries were among the top five global exporters for many important cereals and oilseeds, including wheat, barley, sunflowers and maize (Figure 1). Ukraine is also an important source of sunflower seed oil, supplying about 50% of the global market. These exports have now largely seized as a result of war-related disruptions to production and logistics as well as economic sanctions on Russia and Belarus, its ally. This shock reduction of supply is driving up food commodity prices worldwide and will continue to do so while the current situation persists. The ongoing fighting has already disrupted the planting of barley and will soon disrupt the planting of maize, wheat, and oilseeds. The choke on global supply will thus continue for months (if not years) to come.Non-PRIFPRI1; MaSSP; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food IndustryDSG
Targeting hunger or votes? The political economy of humanitarian transfers in Malawi
No full textDo electoral considerations play a role in the targeting of humanitarian transfers? We analyze the targeting of direct cash and food transfers distributed in Malawi in response to an exceptionally poor harvest following a late and erratic rainy season of 2015-16. Combining household survey data on transfers with a remotely sensed measure of drought and with the results of the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections, we show that transfers were disproportionately targeted at marginal constituencies. Rather than distributing the transfers based solely on need or mobilizing its tribal base, the government attempted to persuade swing voters to support its candidates in the next elections. We nd no evidence that this strategy was successful at increasing the vote of ruling party candidates in subsequent elections.Non-PR1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; IFPRI1; MaSSPDSG
Why are fertilizer prices in Malawi high? And what can be done?
No full textMalawi has a long history of public intervention programs in the fertilizer market, going back to 1992. The latest iteration, the Affordable Inputs Program (AIP), was launched in 2020 and is now under considerable strain because of rapidly escalating fertilizer prices. Under the AIP, the Govern-ment of Malawi intends to supply around 428,000 tons of fertilizer (half of it NPK, half urea) to small-holder farmers at a subsidized price of MWK 4,995 per 50 kg bag. It was envisaged that the fertilizer would be imported and distributed by private suppliers and two parastatals, the Smallholder Farm-ers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) and the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC). However, the Government found the cost proposed by the private sector through the Fertilizer Association of Malawi (MWK 35,000 per bag) excessive, and is considering sourcing all AIP fertilizer exclusively through SFFRFM and ADMARC. The purpose of this note is to assess the situation and outline the best policy options available to the Government to ensure ade-quate fertilizer supply in the short time remaining before the onset of the agricultural season in Ma-lawi.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; MaSSP; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; DCADSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Do incentives matter when working for god? The impact of performance-based financing on faith-based healthcare in Uganda
No full textCan extrinsic incentives motivate faith-based healthcare providers? This paper challenges the finding that religious providers are intrinsically motivated to serve (poor) patients, and that extrinsic incentives may crowd-out such motivation. We use a unique panel of output and expenditure data from small faith-based nonprofit healthcare facilities in Uganda to estimate the effect of introducing performance-based financing. The output of the observed facilities is less than 50% of their potential. Performance-based financing increases output and efficiency robustly by at least 27%, with no apparent reduction in the perceived quality of services. Religious nonprofit healthcare providers may well be intrinsically motivated, but respond positively to extrinsic incentives. Whether working for god or not, incentives matter.PRIFPRI3; ISI; IFPRIOADSG
Are fertilizer subsidies in Malawi value for money?
No full textIt is easy enough to calculate how much the Government of Malawi spends on subsidizing chemical fertilizer. Last year, for example, this was MWK 120 billion (about US$ 150 million) taking up over 50% of the agricultural budget. It is much harder, however, to calculate the benefits that these subsidies bring about and how they stack up against the costs. In this policy note, we combine multiple methods and sources of data to narrow down the range of possible benefit estimates, compare it to the cost of subsidies, and propose changes to current policies to make fertilizer subsidies more efficient and affordable.Non-PRIFPRI1; MaSSP; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDSG
Determinants of children’s nutritional status in Malawi
No full textMalnutrition reduction efforts can be targeted based on the characteristics that affect children’s nutritional status. Using data from a nationally representative survey, we model the determinants of young children’s nutritional status in Malawi as measured by height-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores. We identify several determinants of children’s nutritional status including their gender (boys are more malnourished than girls), their mother’s education, the food security and location of their household (rural children are more acutely but not chronically malnourished than urban children) and access to clean water.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; MaSSP; DCA; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; Capacity StrengtheningDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
IFPRI key facts series: Key facts sheet on poverty
No full textThis is the fourth in a series of Key Facts sheets that IFPRI is producing based on the Integrated Household Surveys (IHS). The purpose of the series is to present data relevant to key policy issues on agriculture, food systems, and development topics in Malawi. Other Key Facts Sheets are available on our website at massp.ifpri.info.Non-PRIFPRI1; MaSSP; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; Capacity StrengtheningDSG
Guiding principles of AIP reform
No full textMalawi’s Affordable Inputs Program (AIP) currently combines an economic and a social objective, respectively: (i) increasing agricultural production; and (ii) assisting poor farming households.Non-PRIFPRI1; MaSSP; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDSG
Policy options for smart subsidies in Malawi
No full textInput subsidy programs, through which farmers receive fertilizer (and in some cases seed) at below-market prices, were popular in many African countries in the post-independence era. They were largely phased out during the 1990s, however, because the emerging consensus at that time was that they only weakly contributed to agricultural productivity growth, food security, and poverty reduction goals and imposed major burdens on national treasuries that crowded out other important public expenditures to support agricultural development.Non-PRIFPRI5; DCA; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDSG
