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Abstract:
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The Malawi Government (GOM) agreed with development partners to formulate the Agriculture Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp) as a means for achieving the agricultural growth and poverty reduction goals of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS). The MGDS has targeted agriculture as the driver of economic growth and recognizes that food security is a pre-requisite for economic growth and wealth creation. The ASWAp, therefore, offers a strategy for supporting priority activities in the agricultural sector in order to increase agricultural productivity to make Malawi a hunger free nation, enable people access nutritious foods and increase the contribution of agroprocessing to economic growth. The ASWAp is unique in that it is a program led by the Malawi Government. It also envisages a single comprehensive programme and budget framework; has a formalized process for better donor coordination and harmonization of investment and alignment of funding arrangements between GoM and donors; promotes increased use of local procedures for programme design, implementation, financial management, planning and monitoring. It is essential to note that the ASWAp is being implemented against a background of various challenges particularly high poverty amongst rural people, food insecurity and malnutrition, low agricultural incomes, limited GoM financial resources, extensive land degradation, underdeveloped irrigation system, rampant deforestation, adverse effects of climate change, low agricultural growth rates (currently at an average of 3% annually), underdeveloped supporting infrastructure (road and telecommunication networks), donorled programmes, un-harmonized priorities for investment by GoM and donors, uncoordinated funding to projects, un-harmonized systems for programme implementation, low levels of technology utilization, weak research and extension services, low capacities to implement programmes effectively, HIV/AIDS pandemic and finally, gender disparities. |