This analysis suggests that efforts to increase small farmers’ production of oilseeds in Malawi should focus on farmers with larger landholdings in the Mid-altitude plateau zone. Land availability appears to be an important consideration in both farmers’ decisions to produce oilseeds and how much of this to sell.
How many households participate in crop agriculture in Malawi?
Source: Benson, Mabiso, and Nankhuni (2016). Source: Author’s weighted analysis of 2016-17 Malawi Integrated Household Survey. Note: Observations (IHS4 survey sample households that engage in crop agriculture): 9,293.
Are Malawian households economically productive?
The bulk of Malawian households fall into this category. Not economically productive households are ultra-poor and the share of household members that are workers (between 15 and 64 years of age) is less than 0.50 – that is, more members of the household are statistically defined as non-workers than as workers.
Why are agro-ecological constraints affecting smallholder farmers in Malawi?
Given the general agro-ecological suitability of much of the land in Malawi for production of these crops, the principal spatial constraints to smallholder farmers engaging in their commercial produc-tion are more likely to be linked to market access and the costs producers would face in order to profitably sell their oilseed.