553
0.1 ha worth of fertilizer and improved maize and legume seeds and covered all
rural farming families, estimated at 2.86 million. The aim of the program was to
improve food security and substitute maize imports (Crawford et al. 2006). The
scheme was repeated in 1999–2000, but for the purpose of sustainability and exit
strategy, it was scaled down to a Targeted Input Program (TIP) from 2000 to 2001
covering only half of the rural farming families. In 2001–2002, the country faced a
severe food crisis affecting 3.2 million people and partly blamed it on the downscaling of TIP. The program was then implemented as an extended TIP (ETIP) from
2002 to 2003, reaching 2.8 million farmers (Pauw and Thurlow 2014). The ETIP
phased out in 2004–2005 following the withdrawal of DFID’s financial support
(Chinsinga 2008).
In 2004–2005, about 4 million Malawians were affected by a severe hunger crisis
as a result of poor maize harvests (Denning et al. 2009). The government’s response
was the reintroduction of fertilizer input subsidies, named Agricultural Input
Subsidy Program (AISP), which was later renamed Farm Input Subsidy Program
(FISP). The aim was to promote access to and use of inorganic fertilizer primarily
for maize production in order to achieve sustainable increase in agricultural productivity and food security (Dorward et al. 2008). The program was to target resourceconstrained but productive smallholders. It was intended to provide fertilizer, not as
a safety net, but to encourage people who have land and human resource to make
effective use of them: something they would otherwise not afford at commercial
prices (Chinsinga 2008).
The administration of the program is via coupon vouchers given to targeted beneficiaries (Dorward and Chirwa 2011). Farmers are officially entitled to two coupons of 50-kg bags of inorganic fertilizer, although practically beneficiaries receive
less than the intended 100 kg (Arndt et al. 2015). Other inputs have also been
included in some years such as tobacco fertilizer, improved maize, legume, and cotton seeds, storage pesticides for maize, and cotton chemicals. In the first year of
implementation in 2005–2006, approximately 166,000 Mg of inorganic fertilizer
was subsidized (Fig. 2). The highest subsidized inorganic fertilizer subsidy was
reported in 2007–2008 of about 216,000 Mg, but the quantity has been decreasing
since then.
Farm input subsidies have effectively increased access to and use of inorganic
fertilizer (Carr 2014; Chibwana et al. 2014; Karamba and Winters 2015; Lunduka
et al. 2014), thereby enhancing nitrogen uptake. The annual fertilizer application
was estimated at 26 kg/ha, approximately 8.6 kg nitrogen (N) in the early 1990s
(Drechsel et al. 2001; Stoorvogel et al. 1993) after the removal of input subsides.
Crawford et al. (2006) reported just over 25 kg/ha between 1996 and 2002, while
the World Bank (2004) estimated a nutrient uptake of 15.9 kg/ha. Following the
introduction of FISP in 2005–2006, Sheahan and Barrett (2017) reported an increase
in annual inorganic fertilizer nitrogen consumption to 23.1–53.1 kg/ha, with a total
Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) consumption of 31.9–56.3 kg/ha.
In addition to FISP efforts, several interventions are also underway in the country
to promote the use of CSA technologies among smallholder farmers. The government
through the Agricultural Sector-Wide Approach (2011–2015) program (ASWAp)
Impact of Farm Input Subsidies Vis-à-Vis Climate-Smart Technologies on Maize…
0.1 ha worth of fertilizer and improved maize and legume seeds and covered all
rural farming families, estimated at 2.86 million. The aim of the program was to
improve food security and substitute maize imports (Crawford et al. 2006). The
scheme was repeated in 1999–2000, but for the purpose of sustainability and exit
strategy, it was scaled down to a Targeted Input Program (TIP) from 2000 to 2001
covering only half of the rural farming families. In 2001–2002, the country faced a
severe food crisis affecting 3.2 million people and partly blamed it on the downscaling of TIP. The program was then implemented as an extended TIP (ETIP) from
2002 to 2003, reaching 2.8 million farmers (Pauw and Thurlow 2014). The ETIP
phased out in 2004–2005 following the withdrawal of DFID’s financial support
(Chinsinga 2008).
In 2004–2005, about 4 million Malawians were affected by a severe hunger crisis
as a result of poor maize harvests (Denning et al. 2009). The government’s response
was the reintroduction of fertilizer input subsidies, named Agricultural Input
Subsidy Program (AISP), which was later renamed Farm Input Subsidy Program
(FISP). The aim was to promote access to and use of inorganic fertilizer primarily
for maize production in order to achieve sustainable increase in agricultural productivity and food security (Dorward et al. 2008). The program was to target resourceconstrained but productive smallholders. It was intended to provide fertilizer, not as
a safety net, but to encourage people who have land and human resource to make
effective use of them: something they would otherwise not afford at commercial
prices (Chinsinga 2008).
The administration of the program is via coupon vouchers given to targeted beneficiaries (Dorward and Chirwa 2011). Farmers are officially entitled to two coupons of 50-kg bags of inorganic fertilizer, although practically beneficiaries receive
less than the intended 100 kg (Arndt et al. 2015). Other inputs have also been
included in some years such as tobacco fertilizer, improved maize, legume, and cotton seeds, storage pesticides for maize, and cotton chemicals. In the first year of
implementation in 2005–2006, approximately 166,000 Mg of inorganic fertilizer
was subsidized (Fig. 2). The highest subsidized inorganic fertilizer subsidy was
reported in 2007–2008 of about 216,000 Mg, but the quantity has been decreasing
since then.
Farm input subsidies have effectively increased access to and use of inorganic
fertilizer (Carr 2014; Chibwana et al. 2014; Karamba and Winters 2015; Lunduka
et al. 2014), thereby enhancing nitrogen uptake. The annual fertilizer application
was estimated at 26 kg/ha, approximately 8.6 kg nitrogen (N) in the early 1990s
(Drechsel et al. 2001; Stoorvogel et al. 1993) after the removal of input subsides.
Crawford et al. (2006) reported just over 25 kg/ha between 1996 and 2002, while
the World Bank (2004) estimated a nutrient uptake of 15.9 kg/ha. Following the
introduction of FISP in 2005–2006, Sheahan and Barrett (2017) reported an increase
in annual inorganic fertilizer nitrogen consumption to 23.1–53.1 kg/ha, with a total
Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) consumption of 31.9–56.3 kg/ha.
In addition to FISP efforts, several interventions are also underway in the country
to promote the use of CSA technologies among smallholder farmers. The government
through the Agricultural Sector-Wide Approach (2011–2015) program (ASWAp)
Impact of Farm Input Subsidies Vis-à-Vis Climate-Smart Technologies on Maize…