/ 31 July 2004

Food security remains a distant dream in Malawi

Forty years after independence, Malawi is still unable to ensure food security for its population, which is growing at a rate of 2% a year, according to the country's national statistical office. More than one million, or more than 10%, of Malawi's population are facing starvation this year, the World Food Programme has announced.

Forty years after independence, Malawi is still unable to ensure food security for its population, which is growing at a rate of 2% a year, according to the country’s national statistical office.

Each year, the media catalogue reports of people dying of hunger-related illnesses in Malawi.

The World Development Movement (WDM), a London-based NGO that encourages policymakers to tackle the root causes of poverty, says the country’s annual maize deficit stands at 630 000 tons, although the production of sorghum, millet and cassava (manioc) goes some way towards alleviating the effects of this deficit.

More than one million, or more than 10%, of Malawi’s population are facing starvation this year, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced on July 8.

To reduce their plight, the UN food agency says it will begin distributing food in August and reach the target of more than one million people by early 2005. The WFP blames the food shortages on drought and flooding that it says have wreaked havoc on the country’s farming sector.

The problems have further been compounded by soil deterioration, a lack of fertilisers and a lack of quality seed and credit facilities, as well as poor roads and labour shortages.

Charles Matabwa, head of Malawi’s civil service, admits the Southern African country has experienced serious food shortages in the past 10 years.

”Consequently, the vicious cycle of household food insecurity has widened significantly over the last decade,” he says.

Critics say Malawi could have fared better if the government had paid attention to its agricultural policies.

Boniface Dulani, a political scientist at the University of Malawi, says the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) should have subsidised seeds and fertilisers to stem the decline in soil fertility.

”We live in a country where the average person earns less than a dollar a day, so how do you expect such people to buy a 50-kg bag of fertiliser at $20?” asks Dulani.

He urges the government to train peasants in modern farming and land-management techniques.

Bright Msaka, chief secretary to the president and Cabinet, said President Bingu Mutharika, who came into office after winning Malawi’s May 20 general elections, is collecting information to improve policies on food management and on how to avert future hunger.

”The president has been getting a lot of input, which he will use to ensure that the country no longer starves,” Msaka said.

Following six-consecutive years of hunger, the government intervened in 2001 to import maize and distribute food aid. However, this led to an unfavourable economic environment, characterised by unstable exchange rates and high interest and inflation rates, with the country still reeling from its effects.

A statement by the national statistics office, issued on July 20, said the shortage of maize continues to accelerate Malawi’s year-on-year inflation, which is now standing at 11,6%.

The Ministry of Agriculture has also noted that because of persistent food shortages at household level, Malawians have been forced to sell off some of their most important assets — such as livestock.

While hosting a birthday party for Queen Elizabeth II in June, Britain’s ambassador to Malawi, Norman Ling, spoke out about the country’s food situation — describing as ”fallacies” the oft-repeated statements that Malawi is small, over-populated, subject to erratic weather patterns and with ”few economic advantages”.

”I disagree because small is beautiful as all economists know. Malawi is also an enormously fertile country,” said Ling.

Ling said with proper management, Malawi’s food needs can be met by putting a fraction of the country’s arable land under cultivation. The rest of the land may then be used to produce cash crops such as tobacco, tea and sugarcane.

On the issue of erratic rains, Ling said the average rainfall of Malawi is double that of East Anglia — Britain’s food basket.

”Sensible husbanding of water resources combined with more irrigation could transform agriculture in this country,” he said.

A 2002 report issued by the World Development Movement said not only the Malawian government is to blame for perennial hunger in the country.

The organisation pointed a finger at the agricultural policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.

It said agricultural reforms were imposed on Malawi without the donors having undertaken a proper analysis of their potential impact and consequences, particularly on the poor. These reforms included the reduction of maize subsidies and also of price controls on the cereal.

It singled out the privatisation of the government’s grain stocks, for which it specifically blames the IMF.

But the IMF defended its role in the food shortage, accusing the government of failing to organise a large enough grain reserve to see Malawi through the emergency.

”The causes of food shortages in Malawi are complex, including lapses in the government’s early warning systems, distortions in domestic markets, and mismanagement of food reserves,” the organisation said.

In the sub-region, droughts have also been experienced in large parts of South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and southern Malawi. Similar but less serious conditions have occurred in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia and Botswana.

A Southern African Development Community regional early warning system report released on February 3 indicated that maize production in South Africa, the regional bread basket, also fell from 9,39-million tons in 2003 to seven million tons this year.

The situation puts countries such as Swaziland and Lesotho, which usually rely on South Africa for additional food, in jeopardy.

The WFP also has expressed concern about the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe, where a controversial land-reform programme has sparked economic and political turmoil. As a result, more than half of Zimbabwe’s population now requires food aid, according the UN food agency. — IPS