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among the poorest countries in the world, and poverty has slightly increased during
the last years from 50.7% in 2010/2011 to 51.5% in 2016/2017 (NSO 2017; WB
2018). However, extreme poverty decreased in the same period from 24.5% to
20.1% (NSO 2017). The food security situation has also worsened; IFPRI (2018)
reports a decline in household food security from 32% food insecure households in
2010/2011 to 61% in 2016/2017. The seriousness of the current food insecurity and
poverty situation combined with expected adverse impacts of climate change in the
future paint a worrisome scenario for Malawi in the years to come. The Government
of Malawi (GoM) and various international actors have responded to these tremendous challenges by investing in agricultural input subsidies and promoting climatesmart agriculture and through the implementation of safety nets such as the direct
provision of cash or food. Whilst climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is currently considered a helpful adaptation approach, it is also criticized for transferring the climate burden to small-scale farmers with already low adaptation capacity (Karlsson
et al. 2018). CSA is also criticized for its narrow focus on technological fixes at the
level of production at the expense of a focus on important political, sociopolitical
and economic drivers of change (Taylor 2018). The purpose of this paper is to assess
lessons learned from past and present policies and actions related to creating a conducive environment for a sustainable food system transformation in Malawi. A food
system approach is used to analyse how various drivers influence the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the Malawian food system, with the aim
of contributing to a better understanding of the challenges faced and the opportunities for action.
2 Approach
To assess lessons learned from policies and actions aimed at transformation to a
more sustainable food system in Malawi, we ask the following questions: What are
the main reasons for the lack of sustainability in the Malawian food system? What
measures have been put in place by local, national and international actors to contribute to a more sustainable food system? What lessons can be learned from various
efforts to a more sustainable food system? We use the food system framework illustrated in Fig. 1 to analyse the food system in Malawi (HLPE 2017). This analytic
framework is applied because it provides opportunities to map the food system situation, to identify challenges, to understand different drivers and to assess to what
degree the measures included in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) will be
able to address the identified challenges. In addition, the framework illustrates how
various factors relate to each other in a holistic way. Particular emphasis is put on
SDG 2.3, which states that agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale
food producers should be doubled by 2030 (UN 2018). The reason for focusing on
SDG 2.3 is the importance of agricultural productivity, food security and poverty in
climate change adaptation and contributions to a sustainable food system in a typical
agrarian economy such as that in Malawi. Our approach also draws on a livelihood
R. Haug and O. T. Westengen
among the poorest countries in the world, and poverty has slightly increased during
the last years from 50.7% in 2010/2011 to 51.5% in 2016/2017 (NSO 2017; WB
2018). However, extreme poverty decreased in the same period from 24.5% to
20.1% (NSO 2017). The food security situation has also worsened; IFPRI (2018)
reports a decline in household food security from 32% food insecure households in
2010/2011 to 61% in 2016/2017. The seriousness of the current food insecurity and
poverty situation combined with expected adverse impacts of climate change in the
future paint a worrisome scenario for Malawi in the years to come. The Government
of Malawi (GoM) and various international actors have responded to these tremendous challenges by investing in agricultural input subsidies and promoting climatesmart agriculture and through the implementation of safety nets such as the direct
provision of cash or food. Whilst climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is currently considered a helpful adaptation approach, it is also criticized for transferring the climate burden to small-scale farmers with already low adaptation capacity (Karlsson
et al. 2018). CSA is also criticized for its narrow focus on technological fixes at the
level of production at the expense of a focus on important political, sociopolitical
and economic drivers of change (Taylor 2018). The purpose of this paper is to assess
lessons learned from past and present policies and actions related to creating a conducive environment for a sustainable food system transformation in Malawi. A food
system approach is used to analyse how various drivers influence the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the Malawian food system, with the aim
of contributing to a better understanding of the challenges faced and the opportunities for action.
2 Approach
To assess lessons learned from policies and actions aimed at transformation to a
more sustainable food system in Malawi, we ask the following questions: What are
the main reasons for the lack of sustainability in the Malawian food system? What
measures have been put in place by local, national and international actors to contribute to a more sustainable food system? What lessons can be learned from various
efforts to a more sustainable food system? We use the food system framework illustrated in Fig. 1 to analyse the food system in Malawi (HLPE 2017). This analytic
framework is applied because it provides opportunities to map the food system situation, to identify challenges, to understand different drivers and to assess to what
degree the measures included in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) will be
able to address the identified challenges. In addition, the framework illustrates how
various factors relate to each other in a holistic way. Particular emphasis is put on
SDG 2.3, which states that agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale
food producers should be doubled by 2030 (UN 2018). The reason for focusing on
SDG 2.3 is the importance of agricultural productivity, food security and poverty in
climate change adaptation and contributions to a sustainable food system in a typical
agrarian economy such as that in Malawi. Our approach also draws on a livelihood
R. Haug and O. T. Westengen