Malawi’s 17.6 million population in 2018 is projected to reach 43.2 million by 2050. Will future generations continue to work in agriculture as their primary food and income source or will there be a shift to non-farm employment?

Using Malawi’s Integrated Household Surveys from 2004, 2010 and 2016, a recent IFPRI Malawi study examined the country’s challenging employment landscape, focusing on its rapidly growing youth.

The study found that despite some movement of workers into services, agriculture remains the principal sector of employment for those entering the workforce. The share of the employed population working in agriculture rose slightly between 2004 and 2016, while the share of those who work in the industrial sector declined. However, when analyzed in terms of full-time job equivalent jobs, both the share of full-time jobs in agriculture and the total number of full-time jobs has declined. This suggests rising levels of underemployment, especially among youth.

To read more of the study’s findings on employment and its policy implications, please visit our website.
 

Inequality trends in Malawi presented in latest ‘Key Facts Sheet’

Did you know that overall consumption inequality between households decreased between 2010/11 and 2016/17? Are you aware that gender, age, and ethnicity of household heads contribute little to overall inequality between households? Or that inequality between districts increased?

These and other interesting trends are presented in IFPRI Malawi’s latest Key Facts Sheet: Inequality. This is the fourth in a series produced using the third and fourth Integrated Household Surveys (IHS).

The series began in February 2018 with a facts sheet on agriculture and food security, followed by facts sheets on food and nutrition security and social safety nets.

The full set of Key Facts Sheets is available on our website.

Bunda Grant Scheme

In early February 2019 we announced the four new participants selected for our 2019 Bunda Grant Scheme mentorship program. Since 2013 the program offers groups of young master’s students from Bunda College at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) mentorship from IFPRI researchers in order to refine and publish their research.

The 2019 BGS participants, and their research topics, are:

• Wyson Maleta: Productivity and technical efficiency analysis of maize production under intercropping and soil cover in Malawi
• Lemekezani Kingston Chilora: Determinants of children’s nutritional status in Malawi
• Christopher Chikowi: Modelling consumer choice and demand for wild and Maldeco chambo in Malawi
• Spencer Ng’oma: Effect of smart subsidies on adoption of conservation agriculture and household welfare: The case of Shire River basin.

A closer look at commercially premixed cereals for infant feeding in Malawi: A study of quality, safety, and demand

Child malnutrition is common in Malawi. Just a quarter of children ages 6–23 months consumed diets, which meet the World Health Organization's minimum dietary diversity standards, and only 8 percent of these met the requirements for a minimum acceptable diet. Infants are commonly fed maize and legume-based porridges, which vary in content and quality, many are bulky with low nutrient density, have low bioavailability of zinc and iron, and are at risk of containing contaminants such as aflatoxin. Fortified premixed cereals can help to meet nutrients needs as complementary foods.

At a recent research seminar, Rachel Gilbert, a Leland Hunger Fellow with IFPRI, shared the results of a study that explored market demand for and the safety of commercially-available cereals in Malawi.

The study found that many locally-produced premixed cereals did not meet both Malawian and international standards for macro- and micro-nutrients. While some imported products have undetectable levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin, the majority of locally-produced cereals had such high levels of mycotoxins that they are unsafe for infants. Caregivers of infants overwhelmingly rely on traditional porridges made-at-home from maize and groundnuts or soybeans. Yet, over half of all respondents stated a preference for fortified, premixed cereals like likuni phala.

To read more about the study and the seminar, please visit our events page.