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5 Lessons Learned Regarding Efforts Towards a More
Sustainable Food System
Numerous efforts towards a more sustainable food system in Malawi have been
initiated from the local level by small-scale men and women farmers and up to the
government and international levels. However, the results have not yielded the necessary effects, as food insecurity appears to be increasing whilst climate uncertainties are threatening the crops and livelihoods of small-scale farmers. There are many
lessons that can be learned from past and current policies and actions. At the international and national level, there is no lack of appropriate policies, strategies and
plans, but the capability for implementation is weak. The description of the implementation of PRSP processes in Ellis et al. (2003:1496) is still relevant today: it is
an agenda promoted from the top by donors and pursued with varying degrees of
enthusiasm, or lack of it, by national governments. Benson et al. (2018) underline
disconnect between what they regard as reasonably high-quality policies and policy
processes and the limited outcome of these policies, stating that the quality of policy
implementation does not meet the intentions of the policies. At the local level, the
climate adaptation capacity appears to be low, and efforts tend to be limited to technological solutions in a way that transfers the burden of adaptation to small-scale
producers (Karlsson et al. 2018). The lessons regarding weak policy implementation at the national level and a low capacity for local climate adaptation indicate that
more focus should be given to the formulation of implementable policies and revisit
the way climate uncertainties are being addressed through climate-smart technology at the small-scale farmer level.
The analysis of the food system drivers provides an overview of the different
types of challenges that need to be addressed to achieve a more sustainable food
system with less hunger, poverty and climate uncertainty. Regarding political and
economic drivers, weak governance, corruption, lack of ability to implement policy,
and a high level of donor dependency do not provide the best frame conditions for
making the food system more sustainable. The analysis shows that biophysical and
demographic factors such as small farm size, land scarcity and high rural population
growth need to be acknowledged in climate adaptation measures in a way that goes
beyond current climate-smart agriculture techniques. High levels of rural poverty
and low profitability in farming require measures such as alternative job creation,
both within and outside the agricultural sector including value addition along the
food chain. Value addition could be sought in certain crops such as groundnuts and
potatoes, though the marketing of this could be challenging. Value addition from
seed producers might be a possibility, if international actors are willing to invest and
actively commission Malawian small-scale farmers to produce seed for a bigger
market than Malawi. With climate change, the production of climate-resilient cultivars could become a Malawian specialty both for domestic and other markets,
including climate-smart seed and income opportunities. Seed production is given as
a possible example of the type of value addition along the food chain that can
improve profitability in agriculture and thereby reduce rural poverty and build resilPolicy and Action for Food and Climate Uncertainties in Malawi
5 Lessons Learned Regarding Efforts Towards a More
Sustainable Food System
Numerous efforts towards a more sustainable food system in Malawi have been
initiated from the local level by small-scale men and women farmers and up to the
government and international levels. However, the results have not yielded the necessary effects, as food insecurity appears to be increasing whilst climate uncertainties are threatening the crops and livelihoods of small-scale farmers. There are many
lessons that can be learned from past and current policies and actions. At the international and national level, there is no lack of appropriate policies, strategies and
plans, but the capability for implementation is weak. The description of the implementation of PRSP processes in Ellis et al. (2003:1496) is still relevant today: it is
an agenda promoted from the top by donors and pursued with varying degrees of
enthusiasm, or lack of it, by national governments. Benson et al. (2018) underline
disconnect between what they regard as reasonably high-quality policies and policy
processes and the limited outcome of these policies, stating that the quality of policy
implementation does not meet the intentions of the policies. At the local level, the
climate adaptation capacity appears to be low, and efforts tend to be limited to technological solutions in a way that transfers the burden of adaptation to small-scale
producers (Karlsson et al. 2018). The lessons regarding weak policy implementation at the national level and a low capacity for local climate adaptation indicate that
more focus should be given to the formulation of implementable policies and revisit
the way climate uncertainties are being addressed through climate-smart technology at the small-scale farmer level.
The analysis of the food system drivers provides an overview of the different
types of challenges that need to be addressed to achieve a more sustainable food
system with less hunger, poverty and climate uncertainty. Regarding political and
economic drivers, weak governance, corruption, lack of ability to implement policy,
and a high level of donor dependency do not provide the best frame conditions for
making the food system more sustainable. The analysis shows that biophysical and
demographic factors such as small farm size, land scarcity and high rural population
growth need to be acknowledged in climate adaptation measures in a way that goes
beyond current climate-smart agriculture techniques. High levels of rural poverty
and low profitability in farming require measures such as alternative job creation,
both within and outside the agricultural sector including value addition along the
food chain. Value addition could be sought in certain crops such as groundnuts and
potatoes, though the marketing of this could be challenging. Value addition from
seed producers might be a possibility, if international actors are willing to invest and
actively commission Malawian small-scale farmers to produce seed for a bigger
market than Malawi. With climate change, the production of climate-resilient cultivars could become a Malawian specialty both for domestic and other markets,
including climate-smart seed and income opportunities. Seed production is given as
a possible example of the type of value addition along the food chain that can
improve profitability in agriculture and thereby reduce rural poverty and build resilPolicy and Action for Food and Climate Uncertainties in Malawi