Resilience Building Through Climate-Smart Agriculture in Malawi

This policy brief examines the implementation of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) in Malawi to combat climate vulnerability and food insecurity. While the government has integrated CSA into national visions like MV2063 and the 2021 NDC, adoption is limited by insecure land tenure, underfunded extension services, and a budgetary focus on short-term input subsidies (AIP) over long-term resilience. The author recommends reviving the National Climate Change Fund, securing land rights, and scaling participatory learning models like Farmer Field Schools to transition from pilot projects to national resilience.

• Agriculture is the primary economic driver in Malawi, employing over 80% of the population and contributing roughly 25% of the GDP, but it is highly vulnerable to climate shocks. Smallholders produce more than 80% of the country's food, primarily maize, though rain-fed maize yields are projected to drop by 10–15% by 2050 under high-emission scenarios.
• Malawi has experienced severe extreme weather events that have caused massive agricultural and human losses. Cyclone Freddy in 2023 displaced 563,000 people and destroyed 179,000 hectares of cropland, causing $500 million in damages. Additionally, a 2024 El Niño-induced drought affected approximately 2 million farming households and damaged 44% of the national maize crop area.
• The government of Malawi has integrated Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) into several high-level policy frameworks to build resilience. Malawi Vision 2063 (MV2063) and the National Agricultural Policy (2024) place CSA at the center of economic transformation. The 2021 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, with 38% of that goal expected to be met through CSA interventions.
• Widespread adoption of CSA is hindered by significant structural and financial barriers. These include insecure land tenure—with 70% of farmland held under customary tenure—under-resourced extension services, and limited access to credit. Women face additional challenges as they have less access to land, credit, and inputs despite being primary food producers.
• There is a significant policy debate regarding the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP). While intended to boost food security via subsidized fertilizer and seed, critics argue its high fiscal cost—MWK32 110 billion in the 2024 budget—diverts funds from long-term resilience investments like irrigation, research, and extension services.
• To scale CSA, the document recommends several priority actions: reviving the dormant National Climate Change Fund (NCCF), implementing the Customary Land Act 2016 to provide gender-equitable land certificates, and integrating rainfall or area-yield index insurance into the AIP. It also emphasizes the importance of Farmer Field Schools (FFS) as a vital participatory delivery mechanism for knowledge transfer.

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} }