Upcoming Article

I was asked to write a short article for Farmers Union by the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) which is the "farmers union" for the world. It will be published in their upcoming World Farmer Publication. Their newsletter can be found at http://www.ifap.org/en/publications/newsletters.html

The short bit I wrote is below:

The Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM), has been a key player in advocating for appropriate responses to the food price crisis. The government of Malawi has implemented an input subsidy programme for selected crops including maize, the staple food crop. The subsidy targets the “poorest of the poor” and gives coupons which cover the majority of the price of the cost of inputs and starting this year, free maize seed. FUM has been a key player in monitoring this programme and, while applauding it, FUM continues to advocate for improvements in the targeting, distribution and logistics of the programme.
Smallholder farmers are still net food purchasers as production levels and land size do not allow farmers to produce enough for each season, so food price is important. FUM continues to advocate for government investment in agriculture and is regularly consulted by government in order to present the voice of farmers and FUM is pleased that Malawi currently allocates approximately 14% of its budget to agriculture, significantly above that called for by the Maputo Declaration. FUM has cautioned government on some of its responses to the crisis though, which include an export ban on maize and a recent declaration that only ADMARC, a parastatal, can purchase and sell maize. FUM successfully advocated that due to the inability to implement this plan, food security could actually be damaged and the government modified its position to allow small scale traders to continue to buy and sell maize. ADMARC’s proper role is in creating a set price that gives an appropriate return to farmers while preventing exploitation of consumers and complements government strategic grain reserves. FUM continues to work to bring the voice of farmers forward in the response to the rising cost of food, recognizing government success while continually working for improvements.