Developing Local Extension Capacity
Malawi has had a strong focus on agriculture and food security since independence, with policies and structures giving guidance to the sector. More recently specific policies on nutrition, gender and EAS have been produced.
Malawi’s national development framework, Vision 2020, aims to build Malawi into “a God-fearing nation, secure, democratically mature, environmentally sustainable, self-reliant with equal opportunities for and active participation by all, having social services, vibrant cultural and religious values and being a technologically driven middle-income economy” (Malawi National Economic Council, 1998). Malawi’s National Growth and Development Strategies (MGDS II) aim to create wealth and reduce poverty through economic growth and infrastructure development. Other country policies focused on agricultural development include:
- National Agricultural Policy (2011 and updated in 2016 ) – a clear and comprehensive policy in agriculture, which guides Malawi to achieve transformation of the agriculture sector
- Malawi Agricultural Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp, 2011 – 2015) – the priority investment program for the agricultural sector, aimed at six percent annual agricultural growth and allocating 10 percent of national budget to agriculture in line with Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) and the Malabo Declaration
- Agricultural Extension in the New Millennium (2000 – ) – the existing agricultural extension policy, although a new one is currently being developed
- The District Agricultural Extension Services System (DAESS, 2006 – ) – a guide for implementing a demand-driven and decentralized EAS system
- Agriculture Sector Gender, HIV and AIDS Strategy (2012 – 2017) – a guide with components aiming to increase percentage of women extension workers and women who have access to extension services; and to develop specific EAS strategies targeting vulnerable households having members living with HIV
- Food Security Policy (2006 – ) – indicating roles of the extension system in promoting adoption of agricultural technologies, sustainable agriculture, livestock health and other areas to ensure food security in Malaw
The two polices below recognize nutrition is a cross-cutting issue and call for joint planning for an agriculture-nutrition system and the positioning of nutrition specialists in the EAS system.
National Nutrition Policy and Strategic Plan (2007 – 2011) – a plan addressing nutrition disorders and deficiencies among the population
Nutrition Education and Communication Strategy (2011 – 2016) – an implementation guide of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement in Malawi
An important government initiative is the Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP). Because national food self-sufficiency is a high priority of the GoM, the goal of FISP is to enhance food self- sufficiency by increasing smallholder farmers’ access to and use of improved agricultural inputs, thereby boosting the incomes of resource-poor farmers (Chibwana and Fisher, 2011). FISP is administered through vouchers with which eligible households purchase inputs, such as fertilizer, hybrid seed and pesticides at reduced prices. The program targets smallholder farmers who own land and are legitimate residents of their villages. In a study on their impacts, Chibwana and Fisher (2011:1) found that poor households that received FISP vouchers were better off than non- recipients and that receipt of FISP vouchers was associated with increased fertilizer use, higher maize yields, and expansion of maize production.
A consensus of findings among existing literature indicates that most of the key elements of these policies, related strategies and approaches are not implemented or are poorly implemented due to lack of implementation documents, little or no budgets and minimal enforceability and accountability. Furthermore, most are old or ending soon, with no discrete plans to review or revise them apart from the agricultural extension policy which is current being revised (more in the next section).
In 2014, Malawi invested 0.53 percent of total agricultural GDP in agricultural research and development (R&D), despite rapid population growth, a shrinking natural resource base, climate change effects on agriculture and changing consumption patterns (Beintema, Makoko & Gao, 2016). In comparison, in 2008, the agricultural research intensity ratio for middle-income countries was 0.6 percent and for high-income countries was three percent (Flaherty, 2011). Due the slowing economic growth, Malawi’s agricultural research spending has fallen substantially since 2012. In 2014, over 64 percent of the agricultural R&D funding came from the government, which has steadily fallen since 2012. Donors and development banks contributed one third of the funding in the same year. In 2015, government institutions accounted for around 55 percent of the Malawian agricultural researcher hires.
Higher education institutes have hired an increasing number of agricultural researchers since 2000. In 2015, around 37 percent of the Malawi researchers focusing on agricultural R&D worked in these education institutes. More than half of the agriculture research focuses on crop production; the three most studied crops include tobacco, beans and maize (Beintema, Makoko & Gao, 2016).
International and domestic public research institutes support the EAS system. For example, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) together with the erstwhile USAID project Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services (MEAS) conducted policy reviews and impact evaluations on Malawi’s EAS system. Other research centers, such as the International Potato Center (CIP) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), work with EAS and NGOs to promote new crop varieties (such as pigeon peas and pro-vitamin A orange-fleshed sweet potatoes) and increase the production, consumption and marketing of these new crops.
Domestic research institutes include:
- Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)
- Natural Resource College (NRC)
- Agricultural Research & Extension Trust (ARET)
- Chitedze Research Station
- Bvumbwe Agriculture Research Station
- Centre for Tick and Tick-Borne Diseases (CTTBD)
- Fisheries Research Station (FRS)
- Department of Agricultural Research Services (DAR)
- Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (FRIM)
- Tea Research Foundation of Central Africa (TRFCA)
Only 20 percent of the agricultural researchers were female in 2014, and 13 percent of the research focused on socioeconomic-related issues in agricultural development. The main funding sources for agricultural research are the GoM and donor agencies.
The Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Natural Resource College are two main institutes providing higher education to agricultural extension workers. More details on their training is found in the next section.
Full study:
World Wide Extension Study
The Worldwide Extension Study WWES provided empirical data on the human and financial resources of agricultural extension and advisory systems worldwide. The programme ran from 2009-2012 and was funded by USAID and managed by IFPRI in partnership with FAO (along with DAAS and CIRAD) and IICA.
For a long time, agricultural extension service in Malawi was the prerogative of the government through its Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Agricultural Extension Services (DAES). Political changes in 1990s leading to a subsequent adoption of democratic principles necessitated a paradigm shift in provision of agricultural extension and advisory services (Chowa, 2010). Decentralization and the presence of other agricultural extension service providers in the field dictated a review of the agricultural extension delivery system that was followed by a decree in 2000 to launch a policy to promote pluralistic and demand-driven extension system summarized in the policy document titled “Agricultural Extension in the New Millennium: Pluralistic and Demand-driven Services (Masangano & Mthinda, 2011). A part from government ministries, players in the pluralistic extension policy include NGOs which are in majority, Farmer-Based Organization (FBOs), multilateral organizations, private sector organizations and semi-autonomous organization to some extent.
History
A Brief History of Public Extension Policies, Resources and Advisory Activities in Malawi
The introduction of the Agricultural extension policy encouraged participation of many other private providers of agricultural extension services. The government further implemented other initiatives including the establishment of the Malawi Young Pioneer Training Bases for training the rural youth in various agricultural skills, the establishment of smallholder farmer crop authorities for coffee, tea and tobacco, the establishment of Special Agricultural Projects, the National Rural Development Program and the introduction of the Block Extension System (Masangano & Mthinda, 2011). These initiatives in part were aimed at promoting production of certain specific crops or commodities, and the provision of extension services mostly based on group approach. With regard to the decentralization, the government of Malawi passed the Local Government Act alongside the decentralization policy so that both policies should work in the manner to promote effectiveness of interventions by transferring power to district level. This created an opportunity to empower farmers by bringing control of extension services closer to them at the local level.
At the national level, Malawi public extension comprises 2,175 staff members and is managed by a team of 18 senior staff according to the MEAS report (2011). Two members of the staff are undergoing a PhD degree program, seven have Master of Science degree and the rest of the team studied at the Bachelor level. Women account for 39% of senior management staff. There are 142 subject matter specialists to provide backstopping support to the field staff, eleven of them have a graduate degree and 31% of which are female. Field level extension workers constitute the bulk of staff (92%), with 88 % of them holding a secondary school diploma, and 21% are female. There are two other groups of workers: Information, Communication & Technology (ICT) Support Staff and In-Service Training Staff. Although the public sector does not employ in-service training personnel, 12 workers are involved in ICT support services (Table 1).
Table 1: Human Resources in the Public Extension Service in Malawi (Government or Ministry -based Extension Organizations)
|
Major Categories of Extension Staff |
Secondary School diploma |
2-3 yr. Ag diploma |
B.Sc. degree |
M.Sc./Ing. Agr. degree |
Ph.D. degree |
|||||
|
Gender |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
|
Senior Management Staff |
|
|
|
|
3 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
|
|
Subject Matter Specialists (SMS) |
|
|
21 |
30 |
21 |
60 |
3 |
8 |
|
|
|
Field Level Extension Staff |
300 |
1460 |
115 |
125 |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
Information, Communications & Technology (ICT) Support Staff |
3 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
In-Service Training Staff |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Extension Staff: 2,175 |
303 |
1,464 |
137 |
156 |
25 |
67 |
7 |
15 |
1 |
|
Source: IFPRI/FAO/IICA Worldwide Extension Study, 2011
Extension Providers
Major Institutions Providing Extension/Advisory Services in the Country
Public Sector
The public sector is represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and its various departments including the Department of Agricultural Extension Services (DAES), the University of Malawi and other education and research institutions around the country. These institutions provide extension services through various departments and institutes some of which are listed below:
Public Extension Institutions
- Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS)
Public Research and Education Institutions with Extension Unit· Alliance One International
- University of Malawi
- Agricultural research & Extension Trust (ARET)
- Chitedze Research Station
- Bvumbwe Agriculture Research Station
Private Sector Firms
Private sector organizations in Malawi are all part of the marketing strategy to promote particular commodities. There are three private sector firms that provide support in terms of inputs and technical advice to farmers in Malawi. These organizations collaborate with government extension officers who assist them in identifying producers, administering contracts and monitoring production to ensure that farmers produce the commodity based on set standards.
- Alliance One International
- Malawi Bio Energy Resources LTD
- Land O’ Lake
- PANNAR
- Seed Co
- Farmer’s World
- Small holder Fertilizer Company
Non-Governmental Organizations and other Donors
In Malawi, the NGOs are the largest grouping in the extension system with a substantial number of extension service providers in various agricultural activities. There are both local and international NGOs with international ones outnumbering the local ones. Donors provide support to Extension through both public, NGOs, and locally based companies such as Ago-dealers. Some NGOs are identified with a particular church or religion (CADECOM, CCAP) and others like SSLPP are associated with a particular commodity such as livestock. A list of some of the NGOs operating in Malawi is as follows:
- Action
- Africare
- Catholic Development Commission, CADECOM-Chikwawa
- CARD-BT
- CARE
- Church of Central African Presbyterian, CCP Development Department
- Christian Service Committee,
- Community Youth Development Activities
- Eagles Relief and Development Program
- Emmanuel International
- Evangelical Association
- Fair – a Joint Rural Livelihood Program
- FAO
- Good Samaritan
- Heifer International
- Japan Overseas Cooperative
- Association, JOCA
- Land O’lake, www.idd.landolakes.com
- Maranatha Ministries
- NASFAM
- Plan International
- Small Scale Livestock Production Program, SSLPP
- Sustainable Rural Growth and Development
- The Hunger Project
- Total Land Care, TLC
Farmer-Based Organizations and Cooperatives
In Malawi, farmers are organized formally by the government and institutions mentioned above and informally by the traditional structures such as village chief advisors, group village headmen and traditional authorities. They mainly organize around common interest like the production of a given agricultural crop, or to pool their resources together and facilitate access to credit and farm inputs. In Malawi, Farmer-Based Organizations (FBOs) constitute a new group in the agricultural system. They include farmer’s associations and unions whose activities focus on promoting production and marketing of a particular crop or livestock product and representing the interests of the members. Local FBOs involve farmers within a specific geographic area like SHMPA, which cater for dairy farmers in the shire valley milk-based area, while others like NASFAM operate at the national level with local groups and associations across the country.
- Farmers’ associations
- National Association of Smallholder Farmers of Malawi (NASFAM)
- Malawi Organic Growers Association
- Mpoto Dairy Farming Association (MDFA)
- Shire Highlands Milk Producers Association (SHIMPA)·
- Unions
- Mzuzu Coffee Planters Cooperative Union Ltd
- Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM)
Enabling Environment
Enabling (or Disabling) Environment
The following events including political changes in 1990s with the wind of democratic change blowing over Malawi, the decentralization of agricultural activities from the MOAFS to the local authorities, the presence of other agricultural extension service providers, and the adoption and promotion of a pluralist and demand-driven extension pose serious challenges to the effective implementation and coordination of agricultural extension programs in Malawi. The increase in the number and types of extension service providers, which in most cases pursue different purposes and objectives are likely to exacerbate coordination problems. The public extension system remains the largest in terms of the number of extension staff employed as well as the geographic area covered. The missing links and weak connections between research, extension and farmers could further add to the many obstacles in reaching farmers with agricultural extension services. Fortunately, the country has the needed elements to increase agricultural production and reduce rural poverty. The presence of a dynamic private sector and the willingness of donors and many other organizations to be a part of the pluralistic system is a positive sign for the country’s economy. Several government initiatives under the Agricultural Extension in the new millennium are tools that could ignite a real agricultural development. Several ICT technologies are currently been introduced in Malawi. Their utilization could facilitate the flow of information and services from research institutions to extension workers, and to farmers. The coexistence of major programs such as FISP, FIDP, IRLAD could play a critical role in enhancing Extension services. Strengthening Research – Extension Linkages, and diversifying the methods and strategies to assist mainly limited resource farmers get access to agricultural extension services is what the government of Malawi need to emphasize.
ICT
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Agriculture and Extension
Development of networks and use of low-cost ICTs enhance timely access to accurate and reliable information. ICT technologies (e-mail, internet, phone, TV) are as yet tools that are underutilized in extension strategies. In 2004, the government of Malawi initiated an ICT-based Malawi Agricultural Commodity Exchange (MACE), a market information service project, to improve access by farmers to market information. MACE was intended to improve the efficiency of agricultural markets as part of the strategy to improve food security (Katengeza et al. (2010). Nevertheless, the level of utilization of ICTs in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, is still low compared to the country’s potentials. Several ICT tools commonly used in other African countries are found in Malawi. For example, mobile phone services have been introduced in Malawi and the population has quickly adopted the service. According to the 2009 World Bank statistics, 15.7 percent of the population of Malawi own and operate a mobile phone. This percentage could be considered low when compare to the percentage (63.4%) of people with a cell phone subscription in Ghana. The use of computers and access to internet services is increasing and agricultural extension system is using the technology to reach farmers. Malawi is still relatively slow in the use of computers and access to internet services. In 2009, 4.7 percent of the population had access to internet. ICTs can complement other extension and knowledge services, but there is a critical need to know how farmers currently access information.
Training
Training for Extension Professionals
Bunda College of Agriculture which is one of the five constituent colleges of the University of Malawi has a proud history dating back to 1966 when it was set up with a specific mandate to train agricultural professionals for the country. It is the only college in the country offering degree level training in the various agricultural disciplines. Bunda College is, therefore, the leading institution in the country in the area of agricultural human resource development. The various agricultural research agencies in Malawi collaborate with each other as well as with regional and international organizations, and offer in-training for research and extension staff. Until recently, training of all senior research and extension staff was done abroad with funding from donors, mainly USAID for long-term professional courses and British Council for off-shore short courses. The Government of Malawi started training staff to replace those soon to retire.
Statistical Indicators
|
Malawi Year |
||
|
Agricultural land (sq km) |
54,720 |
2008 |
|
Agricultural land (% of land area) |
58.2 |
2008 |
|
Arable land (hectares) |
3,000,000 |
2008 |
|
Arable land (% of land area) |
37.2 |
2008 |
|
Arable land (hectares per person) |
0.24 |
2008 |
|
Fertilizer consumption (per ha of arable land) |
2 |
2008 |
|
Agriculture, value added (% of GDP) |
30.5 |
2009 |
|
Food production index (1999-2001 = 100) |
129 |
2009 |
|
Food exports (% of merchandise exports) |
86.6 |
2008 |
|
Food imports (% of merchandise imports) |
13.1 |
2008 |
|
GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) |
290 |
2009 |
|
Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above)* |
73.7 |
2009 |
|
Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) |
86.0 |
2009 |
|
Ratio of young literate females to males (% ages 15-24) |
99 |
2009 |
|
Ratio of female to male secondary enrollment (%) |
88 |
2009 |
|
Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) |
7.3 |
2007 |
|
12.0 |
2008 |
|
|
15.7 |
2009 |
|
|
Internet users (per 100 people) |
1.0 |
2007 |
|
2.1 |
2008 |
|
|
4.7 |
2009 |
|
|
Population, total |
15,263,417 |
2009 |
|
Population density (people per sq. km of land area) |
162.2 |
2009 |
|
Rural population |
12,317,578 |
2009 |
|
Rural population (% of total population) |
80.7 |
2009 |
|
Agricultural population* |
10,990,000 |
2008 |
|
Agricultural population (% of total population)* |
74 |
2008 |
|
Total economically active population in Agriculture* |
4,918,000 |
2008 |
|
Total economically active population in Agriculture (in % of total economically active population)* |
80 |
2008 |
|
Female economically active population in Agriculture (% of total active in agriculture)* |
59 |
2008 |
Source: The World Bank, *Food and Agriculture Organization FAO
References
References
Katengeza, S.P., Mangisoni, J.H., and Okello, J.J. 2010. The Role of ICT-based Market Information Services in Spatial Food market Integration: The Case of Malawi Agricultural Commodity Exchange. Paper presented at the Joint 3rd African Association of Agricultural Economics (AAAE) and 48th Agricultural Economists Association of South Africa (AEASA) Conference, cape Town, South Africa, September 19-23, 2010.
Masangano, C. and C. Mthinda. 2011. Pluralistic Extension System in Malawi, Extension Department, Bunda College of Agriculture. Lilongue, Malawi.
Chowa, C. 2010. Harmonization of Methods and Strategies in Extension Delivery System in Malawi. In Towards Improving Agricultural Extension Service Delivery in the SADC Region, Proceedings of the Workshop on Information Sharing among Extension Players in the SADC Region, Edited by Kimaro W.H, Mukandiwa L. and Mario E.Z.J. 26-28 July 2010. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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List of Extension Providers
The following list shows an excerpt from the GFRAS Directory of Extension Providers for Malawi. Some of these entries may be specially marked for having more detailed information in the database of the Worldwide Extension Study WWES.