334
Accordingly, a sustainable food system is defined by UNEP as:
A sustainable food system (SFS) is a food system that delivers food security and nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social and environmental bases to generate
food security and nutrition for (current and) future generations are not compromised
(UNEP 2018).
A food system approach addresses challenges regarding vulnerability, climate
change and food in a way that interrelates natural, technological, political, socioeconomic and demographic drivers. Thereby, a food system approach provides analytic
tools to put climate change and food in a wider context. Climate-smart agriculture
is, according to FAO (2018), about sustainably increasing the productivity and
income of farmers, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developing resilience in
crops and improving farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change. Whilst this paper
does not go into detail on the different climate-smart agriculture techniques and
results, it does keep into consideration the critique of climate-smart agriculture as
being about technical fixes that put additional burden on small-scale food producers
and overlook political and socioeconomic dimensions of climate change (Taylor
2018; Karlsson et al. 2018). In an agrarian-dominated economy such as Malawi’s,
the food system is a typical traditional food system in which consumers rely to a
large degree on own production and where food supply chains are short and local
(HLPE 2017). Hence, an analysis of the Malawian food system entails a strong
focus on primary food production, agricultural productivity and rural poverty. In
this paper, each of the five drivers included in the HLPE (2017) framework is
reviewed and discussed in a Malawian context.
Biophysical and environmental drivers include natural resource capital, ecosystem services and climate change. In Malawi, the natural resource capital is limited
by land scarcity. Malawi is one of the countries in Africa with the smallest average
farm size, and average farm size is further declining. Median land area cultivated
per household declined from 0.57 hectares in 2010/2011 to 0.45 hectares in
2016/2017 (NSO 2017). Land scarcity is more severe in the central and southern
parts of the country than in the northern part. The natural resource capital is also
effected by deteriorating soil quality, contributing to low yield levels (Carr 2014;
WB 2018). Inputs such as chemical fertilizers are out of reach for most small-scale
farmers who do not receive subsidized input vouchers (Haug and Wold 2017). Soil
improvement measures such as conservation agriculture, mulching and use of
organic manure are technological measures promoted by extension officers and
NGOs. Land scarcity and poor soil fertility are important factors in the assessment
of natural resource capital, though other factors that contribute to food loss such as
pests (e.g. the armyworm) should also be mentioned.
Adverse weather and climate change are included in the biophysical and environmental drivers. Since 1967, Malawi has been hit hard by severe disasters amounting
to 8 serious droughts and 20 floods (GoM 2015, 2016). In the future, climate change
is expected to increase both the frequency and severity of drought and flooding.
IPCC (2014) found that maize-based farming systems such as that in Malawi may
experience a decline in yield of around 18–22%. The USAID climate change risk
profile for Malawi (2017: 2) includes:
R. Haug and O. T. Westengen
Accordingly, a sustainable food system is defined by UNEP as:
A sustainable food system (SFS) is a food system that delivers food security and nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social and environmental bases to generate
food security and nutrition for (current and) future generations are not compromised
(UNEP 2018).
A food system approach addresses challenges regarding vulnerability, climate
change and food in a way that interrelates natural, technological, political, socioeconomic and demographic drivers. Thereby, a food system approach provides analytic
tools to put climate change and food in a wider context. Climate-smart agriculture
is, according to FAO (2018), about sustainably increasing the productivity and
income of farmers, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developing resilience in
crops and improving farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change. Whilst this paper
does not go into detail on the different climate-smart agriculture techniques and
results, it does keep into consideration the critique of climate-smart agriculture as
being about technical fixes that put additional burden on small-scale food producers
and overlook political and socioeconomic dimensions of climate change (Taylor
2018; Karlsson et al. 2018). In an agrarian-dominated economy such as Malawi’s,
the food system is a typical traditional food system in which consumers rely to a
large degree on own production and where food supply chains are short and local
(HLPE 2017). Hence, an analysis of the Malawian food system entails a strong
focus on primary food production, agricultural productivity and rural poverty. In
this paper, each of the five drivers included in the HLPE (2017) framework is
reviewed and discussed in a Malawian context.
Biophysical and environmental drivers include natural resource capital, ecosystem services and climate change. In Malawi, the natural resource capital is limited
by land scarcity. Malawi is one of the countries in Africa with the smallest average
farm size, and average farm size is further declining. Median land area cultivated
per household declined from 0.57 hectares in 2010/2011 to 0.45 hectares in
2016/2017 (NSO 2017). Land scarcity is more severe in the central and southern
parts of the country than in the northern part. The natural resource capital is also
effected by deteriorating soil quality, contributing to low yield levels (Carr 2014;
WB 2018). Inputs such as chemical fertilizers are out of reach for most small-scale
farmers who do not receive subsidized input vouchers (Haug and Wold 2017). Soil
improvement measures such as conservation agriculture, mulching and use of
organic manure are technological measures promoted by extension officers and
NGOs. Land scarcity and poor soil fertility are important factors in the assessment
of natural resource capital, though other factors that contribute to food loss such as
pests (e.g. the armyworm) should also be mentioned.
Adverse weather and climate change are included in the biophysical and environmental drivers. Since 1967, Malawi has been hit hard by severe disasters amounting
to 8 serious droughts and 20 floods (GoM 2015, 2016). In the future, climate change
is expected to increase both the frequency and severity of drought and flooding.
IPCC (2014) found that maize-based farming systems such as that in Malawi may
experience a decline in yield of around 18–22%. The USAID climate change risk
profile for Malawi (2017: 2) includes:
R. Haug and O. T. Westengen