SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY & PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE INPUTS PROGRAMME (AIP) IN MALAWI: KASUNGU DISTRICT

Abstract

The Affordable Inputs Program (AIP), launched by the Malawian government in the 2020–2021 growing season, sought to make it easier for smallholder farmers to access agricultural inputs and thereby increase the output of these resource-poor farmers. The present study was therefore undertaken to 1) assess the efficiency of AIP project in reducing food insecurity and poverty in Malawi by assessing farmers’ perceptions of this introduced AIP and 2) evaluate the impact of AIP on the status of food security at the household level of the poor-resource beneficiary farming households. Data on the social economic characteristics of respondents was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were also used to collect supplementary data for AIP assessment. The food security assessment was based on that developed by the United States Household Food Security Survey Module, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Two hundred maize farmers from across five extension program areas (EPAs) in Kasungu district were interviewed. Access to fertilizer, land holding size, household head’s literacy level, ownership of an off-farm business, and credit availability were significant factors that affected food security. It was also found that corruption, patchy networks, and late input delivery were prevalent in most input selling points, which jeopardized the effectiveness of the AIP and forced food insecurity and poverty in the area. Most of the whole population (93.5%) was food insecure within the last twelve months. The minority of the food-insecure population (22.5%) was at a low food security level, while the majority (77.5%) was at a very low level. Nevertheless, most of these farmers (80%) viewed AIP as an important program that can mitigate food insecurity with proper management.

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