Summary and Implications
The main rainfall season has effectively come to an end in the southern and central regions of the country. Harvesting of various crops is at its peak, and some households are already finished harvesting.
Household food security has greatly improved with the harvests of various food crops. However, there are a few areas where crop production has failed due to dry spells and floods. The MVAC recently conducted food security assessment of these areas to determine the magnitude of the problem in terms of the number of people affected and amount of missing food entitlements. The assessment report is yet to be released, but preliminary indications are that some isolated parts of the center, south and north have experienced problems.
Local market maize prices have dropped sharply with the improvements in market supplies due to the appearance of newly harvested crops on the market and reduced demand as households shift from dependency on the market to food from own production. In a bid to improve rural household incomes, government has announced a minimum producer price for maize and cotton. This price will protect farmers from traders who are perceived to be taking advantage of farmers’ desperation and need for cash in the immediate post-harvest period by buying their maize at very low prices and then selling it back to farmers later in the year at high prices. The government has set the minimum price at MK20.00/kg and advised ADMARC to open their markets across the country and start buying maize from the farmers before all the maize is bought by the private traders.
Seasonal Timeline
Current Hazard Summary
A drop in local market prices could negatively affect household incomes and access to food later in the season.
Food Security Summary
Household food security has greatly improved with the harvests of various food crops. Although the country produces a variety of crops, maize is the mostly widely grown and consumed staple in the country. Maize production is the major determinant of food security in Malawi. According to this year’s second round crop production estimate figures, out of over 3 million hectares planted to various crops by smallholder farmers, over half is maize. Figure 1 (following page) shows the percentage distribution of area planted to the various crops by smallholder farmers. Just over half (52%) of the cultivated area is planted with maize. At a distant second place are pulses (18%), which include beans, cow peas, soybeans, chickpeas, etc. Most of the pulses are intercropped with maize. Pulses are followed by groundnuts at 8% and cassava at 5%. All other crops account for less than 5% each. Second round production figures released by the ministry of Agriculture and Food Security put maize production this year at 2,350,159 MT. Most of the maize is produced by smallholder farmers, mainly for consumption and some for sale. Out of the anticipated maize production of 2,350,159 MT, smallholder farmers account for about 94% and estates for only 6%. This production is one the highest in the recorded history, and only surpassed by the 2,478,058 MT and 2,501,311 MT estimated maize production in 1998/99 and 1999/00 agricultural seasons, respectively. The estimated production for this season is almost double that of last season (1,225,234 MT) and about 43% higher than the 1,642,368 MT average maize production for the past five years. The country is, therefore, expected to experience a food surplus this season. This should become clear with the preparation of the national food balance sheet after the final round crop production estimate figures are released at the end of June. Although the food security picture at the national level looks bright, there are localized areas that have not done well this season due mainly to dry spells, with Kasungu District in the central region being probably the worst affected. Households in the affected areas have benefited very little from the current harvest. Some of the households consumed what little maize they had grown as green maize and will have very little to harvest for storage at the end of the season. The MVAC has just finished its vulnerability assessment and the report will be released some time in June. The report will identify areas at risk of food insecurity in the 2006/07 season and the magnitude of the problem in terms of the populations affected and their missing food entitlements.
Since many farmers have harvested and are now consuming their crops, the market demand for food has declined. This, coupled with an improvement in the food supplies on the market, has caused food prices, including maize prices, to fall. However, the paradox of this development is that while low prices welcome in terms of improvement in households’ ability to buy food, most farmers are selling their crops at this time of the year. Farmers have a lot of cash needs that force them to sell their crops immediately after harvest when prices are low and not later when prices are high. For most of these households, crop sales are the main source of income and they are unable to store their produce to sell at a more lucrative price later in the season. This has been a matter of concern to some stakeholders who feel that that the farmers are getting a raw deal. In response, government has set a minimum buying price for maize at MK20.00/kg in order to protect the farmers. The government has advised ADMARC to start buying maize through their markets that are widely spread across the country and to offer the new price. Government has asked private traders to follow suit. Reports indicate that the government has allocated about 3.5 billion Malawi Kwacha to ADMARC for buying produce from smallholder farmers this season.
Another crop for which government has fixed the price is cotton at MK30.00/kg. Cotton is the main cash crop for most of the households in the lower Shire and along the lakeshore. Some of the income obtained from sale of the cash crops such as cotton is used to buy food. Cotton is one of the crops for which farmers have often complained of low producer prices. The increased prices announced by the government are intended to offer an incentive to farmers to increase production. However, effective implementation of the proposals will depend on farmer accessibility to ADMARC markets and ADMARC’s financial ability to buy the commodities.
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