This study investigates the effects of poor health on the twin decision of participation in wage employment and the hours spent in such work within the framework of the standard theoretical model of labour supply. Our analysis uses pooled cross-sectional data from the Malawi 2010–2019 Integrated Household Panel Survey and relies primarily on Killingsworth estimation procedure VIII. To ensure robustness of our results, we further employ Instrumental Variables Approach and Conditional Mixed Process (CMP) models. We use a new objective measure of health status called the Frailty Index. Results from our preferred participation model show that frailty has a negative effect on women’s labour force participation and there are significant gender differences in the way frailty affects male and female participation in full-time wage employment and part-time employment. Our analysis also reveals that the effects of frailty on labour force participation are more pronounced among women with less education and those residing in rural areas as well as older women. The empirical analysis of a wage function shows that frailty has expected negative sign but not significant effect on wages of female employees. However, poor healthcare significantly affects earnings of both female and male employees. Results from hours-of-work model suggest that frailty has a positive effect among female workers with no education, and significantly reduces hours of work for those with higher education such as a university degree. Another aspect of particular interest in this study is the behaviour of chronic illness variable. We find that chronic illness reduces women’s labour force participation but for those who remain in employment, chronic illness has a significant positive effect on hours of work. We further observe that Frailty Index, which summarizes the individual’s accumulated health deficits is strongly associated with labour force participation than with hours of work. In contrast, short-term health measures, which reflect temporary illness or recent health shocks, are more relevant in explaining adjustments in hours of work. JEL classification: J22; J31; I12: C31; C36

Community Seed Banks (CSBs) are promoted as an approach to support farmers’ access to quality seeds of adapted varieties. While the adoption and impact of varieties distributed through conventional formal seed systems have been extensively studied, research on how participation in CSBs relates to farmers’ seed systems and food security is limited. This paper uses survey data covering 688 households and 1600 plots from Northern and Central Malawi, combined with historical climate data, to assess the extent to which farmers are utilizing CSBs as a seed source and the association of farmer participation in CSBs with a range of other foods system variables. We find that CSBs are the source of about 1/3 of the seeds of maize, groundnut, and soyabean used by the participants and that they source less of their seeds from their own harvest compared to non-participants. While the use of CSB seeds of different crops shows mixed associations with yields at the plot-level, we find that CSB participation is positively associated with higher household food security overall. Furthermore, we find a positive association between exposure to high mean temperatures and rainfall shortages and the propensity to participate in CSBs, suggesting CSBs play a role in adaptation. This study thus shows that CSB participation is associated with several positive food system outcomes, but more research is needed to understand the causal links as well as the efficiency of CSBs compared to other approaches to strengthen farmers’ seed security.

Agricultural markets remain major issue downgrading root and tuber crop farmers who form the mainstream of the agricultural producers in Malawi. Recent evidence however reveals that orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) (Ipomea batatas) is currently being sold in produce markets along with the non-orange varieties, sometimes in differentiated form in Malawi. The main objective of this study was to examine factors affecting market participation of sweet potato farmers in southern region of Malawi. Using a double-hurdle model, this paper analyzed both the factors affecting farmer decision to participate and the extent/intensity of participation in market. The first tier of the double hurdle focused on decision to participate in the market using probit model and the second tier addressed factors affecting intensity of participation using truncated normal regression model. The paper used data collected from 360 farmers in southern districts of Malawi. Out of 360, 146 farmers had grown OFSP in the season preceding the survey. Double hurdle results indicate that farm size, output, age of a farmer (household head), and early maturing trait significantly determined decision to participate in the market. Further, results on intensity of participation indicate that access to market training, farm size, asset value, and output positively determined the intensity and negatively determined by distance to main market and gender of a farmer (household head). Based on the research findings, higher output levels and early maturing trait were found to increase smallholder farmer market participation. It is therefore recommended that strategies aimed at increasing household capacity to produce surplus produce through market tailored extension messages and productivity enhancement technologies could be highly effective in fostering smallholders' participation in commercial markets. Again, enhanced capacity building of research institutions to breed sweet potato varieties based on market demand is pivotal for increased market participation. Furthermore, research suggests that improving smallholder farmers' access to market price information, asset value, and farm size can help increase their intensity in the market. Therefore, it is critical for policymakers to holistically comprehend these socioeconomic factors in order to address the issue of smallholder farm households' decisions about market participation and the degree to which they participate. Orange fleshed sweet potato is currently being sold along with non-orange varieties, sometimes in differentiated. Decision to participate in market is significantly influenced by output, farm size, age early maturing attribute. Market intensity is determined by access to training, distance to market, farm size, gender, asset value and output. Breeding programs should integrate both sensory and agronomic traits such as early maturity and good taste.

Anthropogenic stressors such as land-use change, habitat degradation, and climate change stress inland fish populations globally. Such ecological disturbances can affect actors throughout the social-ecological system by contributing to uncertainty in landings, landing prices, and coastal incomes. Most literature to date on the resilience of the fishing sector has focused on fishing (production), fisheries management, and the livelihoods of fishers, whereas little attention has been paid to the post-harvest sector and the livelihoods of fish processors, logistics providers, wholesalers, and retailers. In the empirical case of the small-scale usipa ( Engraulicypris sardella ) trade in Malawi, we investigated the impacts of price volatility, a form of uncertainty, on small-scale fish retailers’ livelihood outcomes. By concentrating on fish retailers in the downstream region of the value chain, we provide new insight into how small-scale fisheries actors in the broader fish food system experience and adapt to uncertainty. We find that price volatility negatively impacts net income for retailers, and that an important adaptive strategy is spatial arbitrage. However, gender dynamics and access to capital limit retailers’ ability to employ the spatial arbitrage adaptive strategy.

Goat keeping is a common practice among rural farmers due to the adaptability of goats to harsh environments, their efficient forage conversion and rapid growth, and their multiple benefits, including the production of manure and high-quality milk. However, limited research has been done on the direct effect of participation in goat keeping on food security in Malawi. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of participation in goat keeping on household food security in Dowa district in Malawi using the propensity score-matching technique. The results reveal a positive correlation between goat farming and household food security. This was evident from the significant average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), which indicated a lower value of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) for goat keepers compared to non-keepers. These findings highlight the potential of goat farming to enhance food security among rural households, emphasising the importance of promoting this type of farming at the household level.

Vitamin A dense Orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) has the potential to build resilient livelihoods against Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD), food insecurity, and climate change. However, the adoption of OFSP among smallholder farmers in Malawi remains low. Although many scholars across the globe have reviewed the seed systems of OFSP, no empirical study, in Malawi or elsewhere, has modelled how the use of the various sources of vines affect farmers’ seed security and eventual decisions to adopt biofortified OFSP varieties. The study employed a mixed methods approach and used a Triple Hurdle model to analyze the effect of the existing sources of vines on the adoption of OFSP among 721 randomly sampled households in central and northern Malawi. The study also developed a seed security experience score (SSES) in order to assess the capacity of the existing sources of vines to ensure farmers’ seed security. By defining adoption as a three-stage process, and by shifting the seed systems focus to capacity of the existing sources of vines, the study departs from the conventional approaches that most scholars have used to model adoption of OFSP. The study found that the existing sources of vines influenced all the three stages of adoption. The SSES results indicated that the capacity of the existing sources subjected the majority of the farmers to a highly seed insecurity status. Interventions therefore must be designed to address the seed security challenges associated with the existing sources in order to enhance the capacity of the sources for widespread and sustained adoption of OFSP.

We study whether luck in a repeated risky investment game can contribute to measurement errors and also help improve the predictive power of the game. We investigate how good and bad luck affect risk-taking behavior in the following rounds of the game. The luck outcome of the previous round is known when the subjects decide how risky their next choice in the game will be. A sample of 720 university students is used as subjects in the game in a recursive within-subject design. The results demonstrate a strong impact of luck on risk-taking behavior that lasts not only to the next round but also into another two follow-up rounds, with cumulative effects. A time delay of 1-2 months between Round 1 and Round 2 did not wipe out the luck effect and it was only marginally weaker than the luck effect from Round 2 to Rounds 3 and 4 that followed immediately after Round 2. Many recent studies have shown that risk preferences respond to shocks. This study indicates that random shocks such as luck in previous games (states of nature) influence risk-taking behavior. On average, luck stimulates more risk-taking and bad luck less risk-taking.

Women play key roles in fish value chains, especially post-harvest processing and marketing of fish products. However, gendered inequities in small-scale fishery value chains persist around the globe, limiting livelihood benefits for many women and their households. This study uses a mixed methods approach to investigate how gender norms shape gendered inequities in marketing margins for fish retailers in small-scale fishery value chains. In the empirical case of usipa ( Engraulicypris sardella ) trade in Malawi, we find that there is nearly equal participation in fish retail between females and males. Yet, there is a statistically significant difference in marketing margins between female and male usipa retailers, with female retailers earning less. We find that gender norms indirectly impact marketing margins by disproportionately constraining time for women, shaping household decision-making regarding women’s spending, limiting women’s access to resources including financial services and fish, and maintaining patriarchal power dynamics. Despite these results, we find that there remains a dominant discourse among men that gender does not impact marketing margins. In connecting specific gender norms, revealed through qualitative methods, to specific livelihood outcomes, measured through quantitative methods, this study provides new insight into gendered inequities in small-scale fish trade.

Wasting among children under-5 years remains a public health problem in Malawi, despite the quest to improve food availability through Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP). As such, the study examined the link between FISP and child wasting. Using Malawi Integrated Household Panel Surveys for 2013, 2016, and 2019, two-stage least squares approach was employed to run a Cobb Douglas production function and a correlated Random Effects (CRE) Model to account for endogeneity challenges and an unbalanced panel dataset. The study hypothesized the role of FISP to dietary diversity at the household level on child wasting [weight-for-height (WHZ)]. Based on the analysis, the study found that household access to FISP coupons was not a stand-alone predictor for low wasting among children under-5 years. However, increased maize production due to FISP coupon access significantly correlated with lower wasting likelihood incidences at the household level. Worth to note, that in 2015/16, households that had accessed FISP coupons and were in the central region had higher wasting probabilities among the children under-5 years in Malawi compared to other counterparts panels. This implies challenges to addressing wasting among children under-5 years– which can be attributed to higher redemption costs of the FISP coupon. Therefore, the current study suggests that input subsidies can improve the reduction of wasting among children under-5 years through specific pathways, among them, increased maize production and considering appropriate targeted approaches to ensure households access the inputs for sustained food availability, which in turn enhances improved the children under-5 years health dividends in Malawi.

Compelling evidence in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) shows that Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) has a positive impact on agricultural productivity. However, the uptake of CSA remains low, which is related to anthropogenic, or human-related, decisions about CSA and agricultural land use. This paper assesses households' decisions to allocate agricultural land to CSA technologies across space and over time. We use the state-contingent theory, mixed methods, and mixed data sources. While agricultural land is increasing, forest land is decreasing across countries in SSA. The results show that household decisions to use CSA and the extent of agricultural land allocation to CSA remain low with a negative trend over time in SSA. Owned land and accessing land through rental markets are positively associated with allocating land to CSA technologies, particularly where land pressure is high. Regarding adaptation, experiencing rainfall shocks is significantly associated with anthropogenic land allocation to CSA technologies. The country policy assessment further supports the need to scale up CSA practices for adaptation, food security, and mitigation. Therefore, scaling up CSA in SSA will require that agriculture-related policies promote land tenure security and land markets while promoting climate-smart farming for food security, adaptation, and mitigation.

Drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties have received massive support in sub-Saharan Africa because of their potential to protect smallholder farmers against drought-related maize yield losses. Using four waves of household farm panel data from six districts in Malawi, we examine the impact heterogeneity of this technology on maize productivity using a continuous treatment approach. We find strong evidence of positive correlation between maize yield and adoption of DT maize varieties. On average, an increase by one hectare in the area allocated to DT varieties increases maize yield by 547 Kg/ha representing a 44% increase from the average maize yield of 1,254 Kg/ha for our sample. Our findings give evidence that DT maize technology has potential to protect smallholder farmers against drought-related production losses. Policies that promote increased allocation of maize area to DT maize hold potential to enhance food security. Smallholder farmers especially in drought-prone areas should be encouraged to allocate at least one-third of the maize plot to DT varieties while breeders continue with the efforts of breeding a DT variety that is not only drought tolerant but also adapted to all weather conditions. More importantly, the government should ensure provision of timely ex ante weather information to guide farmers on decision-making with respect to maize varietal choices.

Drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties have received massive support in sub-Saharan Africa because of their potential to protect smallholder farmers against drought-related maize yield losses. Using four waves of household farm panel data from six districts in Malawi, we examine the impact heterogeneity of this technology on maize productivity using a continuous treatment approach. We find strong evidence of positive correlation between maize yield and adoption of DT maize varieties. On average, an increase by one hectare in the area allocated to DT varieties increases maize yield by 547 Kg/ha representing a 44% increase from the average maize yield of 1,254 Kg/ha for our sample. Our findings give evidence that DT maize technology has potential to protect smallholder farmers against drought-related production losses. Policies that promote increased allocation of maize area to DT maize hold potential to enhance food security. Smallholder farmers especially in drought-prone areas should be encouraged to allocate at least one-third of the maize plot to DT varieties while breeders continue with the efforts of breeding a DT variety that is not only drought tolerant but also adapted to all weather conditions. More importantly, the government should ensure provision of timely ex ante weather information to guide farmers on decision-making with respect to maize varietal choices.

This paper examines adoption of drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties under rainfall stress in Malawi using a Mundlak-Chamberlain panel Probit model with a Control Function approach. DT maize varieties is a promising technology that has the capacity to help smallholder farmers adapt to drought risks. Using a four-round panel data spanning nine years from six districts, results show an increase in adoption from 2% in 2006 to 41% in 2015. The paper finds a positive impact of one year and two years lag of longest early dry spells and two years lag of late dry spells on the likelihood of adoption but a negative impact of one year lag of late dry spell. The positive findings imply that farmers learn from previous exposure to drought and respond by adopting weather riskreducing technologies such as DT maize. Furthermore, the impact of lagged early droughts suggests that farmers show a high preference for early maturing DT maize. However, the conflicting results of late dry spells with one year lag reporting negative and two years lag positive suggest that farmers do not immediately respond to late drought shock by adopting DT maize but rather take time to appreciate the significance of the varieties as a technology that survive better under drought during maize flowering phase. These findings could imply that there is still limited awareness among smallholder farmers in Malawi on the benefits of DT maize. There is a need therefore to improve on good extension messages to allow farmers make better-informed decisions.

This paper examines determinants of the adoption of rainwater-harvesting technologies in a rain shadow area of southern Malawi. The most common ex situ technologies in the area were dams, and the widely used in situ technologies were box ridges, contour markers and swales. Adopters treated, on average, 80% of their farms with the rainwater-harvesting technologies, a move that significantly increased their food security status and incomes. The key finding of the study is that the choice of technologies was influenced by land slope and quality, farm size, soil texture, security of land tenure, education level of household head and extension support. The results therefore underscore the potential gains from rainwater-harvesting technologies in improving farmer income and food security, and the need to promote the technologies as a package, because a household may implement different technologies on the same field depending on diverse social, economic, institutional and environmental factors.

We examine adoption of drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties using a four-round panel dataset from six districts in Malawi. There is an increase in adoption of DT maize from 3% in 2006 to 43% in 2015 in our data. We focus on the effect of past drought exposure on adoption and the likelihood of DT maize being distributed under the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP). Results show that past exposure to drought increases the probability of DT maize seed being distributed through FISP. Farmers who accessed maize seed subsidy coupons and were previously exposed to late season dry spells are more likely to use the seed subsidy coupon to redeem DT maize seed. The likelihood of adoption and adoption intensity (area under DT maize) are positively influenced by previous early season dry spells and access to seed subsidy. Previous late season droughts also positively affect adoption intensity. On the other hand, area share under DT maize is positively correlated with early season dry spells and past exposure to late season dry spells but negatively related to seed subsidy. FISP in Malawi appears to have stimulated adoption of DT maize directly through subsidy and indirectly through generating farmers’ experiences of the performance of DT varieties under drought conditions.

This paper assesses the adoption potential of conservation agriculture (CA) and related technologies in Malawi, where CA appears appropriate to protect against land degradation and climate risks (droughts and floods). Estimation of adoption rates and their determinants is complicated by the relatively recent introduction of some of these technologies and limited awareness of CA principles and practices among the general population of smallholder farmers. We propose and use a lead farmer promoter-adopter approach, which relies on the promoters having had sufficient exposure and access to the technologies, their interest to adopt CA not having been distorted by excessive incentives, and them not being overly different from other smallholders in the target population. These conditions are reasonably satisfied in our application with a sample of 175 lead farmers from four districts in central and southern Malawi. Conditional on lead farmers being familiar with the technologies, we find adoption rates of 56% for organic manure and crop rotation, 26% for minimum tillage, 30% for mulching, and 12% for herbicide application. Lead farmers recommend CA and supporting agricultural practices to their followers at rates of 66% for organic manure, 49% for crop rotation, 45% for minimum tillage, 27% for mulching, and 6% for herbicide application. Assuming the validity of the promoter-adopter approach, these findings together suggest that, in central and southern Malawi, organic manure and crop rotation (in central Malawi only) have the highest adoption potential, mulching and minimum tillage come next, and herbicide application has the lowest potential. Ninety-seven percent of the lead farmers had adopted three or less of these technologies, full adoption of CA is therefore, unlikely and suggest other reasons than information constraints as major impediments to its full adoption.

Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies hold potential to protect against climate risks, reduce nutrient depletion and enhance food security. In this paper, we study how exposure to dry spells influences use and use intensity of ISFM technologies, specifically focusing on maize-legume intercropping and organic manure. We use a four-round panel dataset collected from households in six Malawi districts over a period of nine years and merged with daily rainfall data from the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services. The results using correlated random effects models reveal that exposure to one-year lag of late-season dry spells is associated with high likelihood of use and use intensity of organic manure and maize-legume intercropping. However, there is an inconsistent effect of two-year and three-year lags of both early-season and late-season dry spells on the use and use intensity of both technologies. We respectively attribute these positive and inconsistent impacts to farmers' perceived and delayed benefits of the technologies under dry spells. We recommend that promotion messages should properly package the technologies to include those with immediate and delayed but enduring effects and sensitize the farmers on the same.

Despite the potential of conservation agriculture (CA) for increased crop yields, energy savings, soil erosion control, and water-use efficiency, smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa have been slow to adopt. Farmer-to-farmer extension (F2FE) may have a role to play in overcoming the information access problems and lack of knowledge that may preclude widespread adoption. This study uses data for 180 lead farmers linked to their 455 followers to investigate how F2FE influences awareness and adoption of CA technologies in Malawi. Results from a bivariate probit model for follower farmer awareness and adoption of the three CA principles (minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention, and crop diversification) reveal four main findings: First, lead farmer motivation increases their effectiveness at diffusing CA practices to their followers. Second, lead farmer familiarity with and adoption of CA both matter to the spread of CA practices, but familiarity appears more important. Third, lead farmers play a more critical role in increasing awareness than adoption of the CA practices. Finally, F2FE is a complement rather than a substitute for other sources of agricultural extension in Malawi's pluralistic extension system and should support but not replace current systems. Research and policy implications are discussed.

This study investigates how the Farmer-to-Farmer-Extension (F2FE) system with lead farmers and follower farmers influences adoption of Conservation Agriculture (CA) technologies in Malawi. Using data from 180 lead farmers and their 455 followers in central and southern Malawi, we assess the level of influence lead farmers have on their followers’ familiarity with and adoption of CA. The main findings are that (a) lead farmers have significant influence on CA familiarity and adoption among followersthrough their motivation, familiarity, and own adoption and (b) F2FE is a complement rather than a substitute for other agricultural extension activities. Policy implications are discussed.