Resilience Building Through Climate-Smart Agriculture in Malawi

The document examines the role of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in Malawi's economic transformation and climate adaptation. While CSA is central to national policies like Malawi Vision 2063, widespread adoption is hindered by insecure land tenure, limited finance, and under-resourced extension services. The brief argues for a shift from short-term input subsidies toward long-term resilience investments, improved digital advisory services, and the institutionalization of participatory learning models like Farmer Field Schools.

• Malawi's agricultural sector is highly vulnerable to climate shocks, with mean temperatures rising by 0.5°C since 1981 and rain-fed maize yields projected to decline by 10–15% by 2050 under high-emission scenarios.
• Extreme weather events have caused significant damage, including Cyclone Freddy in 2023, which displaced 563,000 people and destroyed 179,000ha of cropland, and a 2024 El Niño-induced drought that affected approximately 2 million farming households.
• Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is integrated into several national frameworks, including Malawi Vision 2063 (MV2063) and the 2021 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), with the latter targeting a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, 38% of which is expected from CSA interventions.
• Widespread adoption of CSA is limited by institutional and structural barriers, including fragmented ministerial responsibilities, insecure land tenure—with 70% of farmland under customary tenure—and limited access to formal credit.
• There is a significant policy debate regarding the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP); critics argue its high fiscal burden—MWK32 110 billion in the 2024 budget—prioritizes short-term subsidies over long-term resilience investments like irrigation and R&D.
• Innovative delivery mechanisms, specifically Farmer Field Schools (FFS), have proven more effective than under-resourced formal extension services in disseminating CSA knowledge through participatory, group-based learning.
• Malawi lacks an accredited National Implementing Entity (NIE) for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), meaning it must access funding through international entities; the University of Malawi has been in discussions since 2022 to fill this role.

APA

CHEVALLIER, R. (2025). Resilience Building Through Climate-Smart Agriculture in Malawi. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SAIIA_PI-165_ClimateSmartAgric.pdf

Chicago

CHEVALLIER, ROMY. Resilience Building Through Climate-Smart Agriculture in Malawi. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2025. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SAIIA_PI-165_ClimateSmartAgric.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CHEVALLIER |first1=ROMY |title=Resilience Building Through Climate-Smart Agriculture in Malawi |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=August 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SAIIA_PI-165_ClimateSmartAgric.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chevallier2025resilience, author = {CHEVALLIER, ROMY}, title = {{Resilience Building Through Climate-Smart Agriculture in Malawi}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SAIIA_PI-165_ClimateSmartAgric.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }