Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: MALAWI

Malawi is not on track to meet its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals due to climate change, economic shocks, and high poverty. The report argues that an additional annual public investment of USD 543 million is required to end hunger, double smallholder incomes, and transition 14 million people to healthier diets while meeting climate commitments. Key priorities include on-farm investments in irrigation and livestock, nutrition education, and building climate resilience for vulnerable groups, particularly women.

• Without additional investment and policy changes, Malawi's poverty and hunger rates are projected to increase by 2030, with poverty rising from 71% in 2019 to 72% and hunger increasing from 20% in 2020 to 25%. Over 90% of the population will still find healthy diets unaffordable.
• Current diets in Malawi are dominated by cereals, specifically maize used for nsima, and are deficient in fruits, vegetables, and animal-source foods. Low-income households have a higher dietary share of vegetables (18.7%) than wealthy households (10.6%), but wealthy households consume significantly more meat and animal products (23.7% vs 10.4%).
• Achieving a sustainable food system transformation by 2030 requires an additional annual public investment of USD 543 million. Of this, USD 472 million must come from external donors and USD 71 million from domestic resources.
• There is a significant funding imbalance where official development assistance (ODA) for short-term emergency food assistance has increased, while long-term investment in agriculture and food security has stagnated.
• On-farm interventions are the highest priority for funding, requiring USD 364 million annually. Key focus areas include irrigation infrastructure, livestock productivity, and agroforestry to improve productivity and incomes for smallholders.
• Livestock production is the primary driver of agricultural GHG emissions growth in Malawi. Current policies focus on breeding and veterinary services but lack focus on sustainable intensification, manure management, and small ruminants.
• Climate change is severely undermining food security, with maize yields potentially decreasing by 14%–25% by 2050 due to heat stress. The country is highly vulnerable due to its heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture.
• Reducing food loss and waste is identified as a highly effective but neglected strategy for improving food security and nutrition, with very limited coverage in current government policies or donor projects.
• Malawi lacks national food-based dietary guidelines, which are necessary to set country-led targets for transitioning to healthier diets and should be integrated into school feeding programs.

APA

Bizikova, L., De Brauw, A., Rose, M. E., Laborde, D., Motsumi, K., Murphy, M., Parent, M., Picard, F., & Smaller, C. (2022). Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: MALAWI. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/sustainable-food-systems-global-crisis-malawi.pdf

Chicago

Bizikova, Livia, Alan De Brauw, Mali Eber Rose, David Laborde, Kulthoum Motsumi, Mike Murphy, Marie Parent, Francine Picard, and Carin Smaller. Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: MALAWI. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/sustainable-food-systems-global-crisis-malawi.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bizikova |first1=Livia |last2=De Brauw |first2=Alan |last3=Rose |first3=Mali Eber |last4=Laborde |first4=David |last5=Motsumi |first5=Kulthoum |last6=Murphy |first6=Mike |last7=Parent |first7=Marie |last8=Picard |first8=Francine |last9=Smaller |first9=Carin |title=Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: MALAWI |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/sustainable-food-systems-global-crisis-malawi.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bizikova2022achieving, author = {Bizikova, Livia and De Brauw, Alan and Rose, Mali Eber and Laborde, David and Motsumi, Kulthoum and Murphy, Mike and Parent, Marie and Picard, Francine and Smaller, Carin}, title = {{Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: MALAWI}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/sustainable-food-systems-global-crisis-malawi.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }