Book Description

Malawi's smallholder agricultural production is a maize-mixed system following the unimodal rainfall system, prone to climate shocks causing variable crop yields that increase food insecurity. Smallholder farmers make decisions on crop and farm management based on resource availability as well as socio-economic and environmental factors. The government of Malawi has made efforts to improve agricultural production through fertilizer subsidies and the promotion of sustainable farm practices such as legume intercropping and crop residue management practices for soil fertility enhancement. Such efforts are part of the Sustainable Intensification (SI) of Agriculture pathway widely supported across Africa as a means to increase food and agricultural production. The purpose of this research is to examine Malawi's agriculture through a multi-scale lens; national, sub-regional and local recognizing the spatial-temporal environmental and social drivers occurring across agro-ecologies and influencing smallholder farmers and their capacity for sustainable food production. We assess spatial patterns of Malawian productivity using decadal (2006-2017) climate, edaphic properties, and vegetation indexes, where spatially-located positive trends discrete from climate are presented as evidence of where Intensification (SI) of agriculture is taking place. Secondly, a baseline study that captures farmer demographics and farm practices from randomly stratified sites with varying agro-ecologies is carried out to better understand the contemporary Malawian farmer, the environment within which they produce food, and their overall potential for sustainable agriculture. Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change analyses and landscape quantification of agricultural intensification patterns and their underlying landscape processes are assessed for evidence of sustainable practices. Additionally, we elucidate the landscape patterns of the SI of agriculture associated with Malawi's agricultural extension delivery system. The main findings show evidence of positive spatial trends in Malawi's agricultural productivity that are not influenced by mesic climatic signals. This is consistent with evidence of farmer managed agricultural intensification. At the sub-regional scale, there are few land use changes in Central Malawi's Dedza and Ntcheu districts from 2014 to 2019 demonstrating the stability and maturity of this traditional agricultural landscape. However, overall land fragmentation has increased, particularly in land classified as agroforestry and shrubs/forests classes possibly indicating increased use of sustainable farming practices. Smallholders in central Malawi seek location specific agricultural advice on cropping systems and soil nutrient management recommendations. Effective delivery of advice by extension, responsive to farmer goals, could potentially boost farmer adoption of SI technologies.