The Future of Smallholder Farming in Malawi

• Farm size in Malawi averages 0.73; roughly 30% of Malawian farmers are near landless, operating less than 0.5 ha. • Given current low levels of farm productivity, farm sizes are too low to allow the majority of rural households to derive enough income from farming to get out of poverty. • Raising agricultural productivity on smallholder farms is a precondition for economic transformation in Malawi; farm productivity growth will determine the rate of employment and income expansion in the rest of the economy. • Raising agricultural productivity in Malawi will require substantially increased investment in research and development, agricultural extension, and infrastructure (e.g. roads, electricity, irrigation, etc.). • Strengthening individualized tenure rights and rural financial institutions will promote sustainable agricultural productivity growth. • Increased private investment in Malawian agriculture is crucial, but it is the state that determines the how much private investment flows into the country. The flow of private investment to Malawian agriculture will rise dramatically when the state creates and begins to implement a compelling and comprehensive vision for agri-food systems development.