Mwapata Institute

5 Days to Go!!!

Remember to join the live webinar-based conversation exploring practical solutions to transform agriculture across Africa by scanning the QR code on the flyer to participate in the AFIDA-ANAPRI Policy Dialogue on Wednesday, 12th August 2026, from 1:00pm - 2:30pm (WAT).

During the webinar, our Research Fellow, Dr Christone Nyondo, will make a presentation titled "Crowding In or Crowding Out? Lessons from Fertilizer Subsidy Programmes for Agricultural Transformation in Africa".

Representing the MwAPATA Institute, our Board Chair, Prof. Richard Mkandawire and the Executive Director, Mr William Chadza, participated at the "AGRA@20" Malawi commemoration held today, 6th August 2026, at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, where the Board Chair gave a keynote address.

AGRA-Sustainably Growing Africa’s Food has been one of our key partners in various agri-policy research activities that we have been implementing. Recently, AGRA has been supporting MwAPATA in implementing the LEAP4YOUTH project in partnership with the National Youth Council of Malawi.

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For many households in Malawi, repeated shocks such as rising agricultural input costs, floods, and irregular rainfall can undermine livelihoods and make recovery difficult. This raises an important question: what role can social protection play in strengthening household resilience?

A recent study by Dr. Anderson Gondwe, Mr. Bonface Nankwenya, Dr. Joseph Goeb of MwAPATA Institute, and DoE’s Professor Levison Chiwaula, examines this question using four rounds of the Integrated Household Panel Survey (IHPS).

Key findings show that:

1. Repeated shocks weaken resilience, particularly rising input costs, floods, and irregular rainfall.

2. Education strengthens resilience, improving households’ ability to cope with shocks.

3. Diversified livelihoods and savings build resilience, providing households with greater financial buffers.

4. Current social protection programmes have limited effects, with no statistically significant relationship found between resilience and coupon subsidies or cash transfers.

5. Long-term resilience requires broader action, including better education, livelihood diversification, climate-smart technologies, and more effective social protection.

The study highlights the importance of moving beyond short-term assistance towards policies that strengthen households’ capacity to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and recover from shocks.

We congratulate Prof. Chiwaula and team on this important contribution to Malawi’s policy and research discourse.


Gowokani Chijere

Join the conversation exploring practical solutions to transform agriculture across Africa by scanning the QR code on the flyer to participate in the AFIDA-ANAPRI Policy Dialogue on Wednesday, 12th August 2026, from 1:00pm - 2:30pm (WAT).

During the Live Webinar, our Research Fellow, Dr Christone Nyondo, will make a presentation titled "Crowding In or Crowding Out? Lessons from Fertilizer Subsidy Programmes for Agricultural Transformation in Africa".

Download the article at https://bulletin.ids.ac.uk/index.php/idsbo/article/view/3356

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development (MoAIWD), National Planning Commission of Malawi (NPC), and MwAPATA Institute held inception meetings with local council planners, NGOs, and INGOs in Mchinji and Mzuzu from 7th to 9th July 2026. Our Research Director, Anderson Sawira Gondwe and Research Analyst, Mrs Dinah Tuwanje Salonga, represented MwAPATA at the meetings.

During the meetings, the Ireland-Malawi Agri-Food Systems Programme (IMAGRI), implemented by the MwAPATA Institute in partnership with Sense and with support from the Embassy of Ireland Malawi, was introduced. The programme supports Food Systems Transformation in Malawi, explains food systems governance, and guides councils in forming multisectoral coordination teams. Mrs Salonga presented IMAGRI's efforts to advance Malawi's food systems transformation.

Effective transformation of Malawi’s food systems depends on strong local governance to foster collaboration, reduce duplication, and optimise resources. To support this, MoAIWD and NPC are expanding food systems governance to three new districts: Mulanje (Southern region), Mchinji (Central region), and Rumphi (Northern region).

The three districts were selected to ensure regional representation, enable analysis of cross-border trade (in Mulanje and Mchinji), and draw lessons from a food-insecure district (Rumphi) for national implementation. The food systems transformation initiative programme has been implemented in Dedza, Mzimba, and Chikwawa districts with funding from GIZ Malawi since 2024.

Congratulations to Dr Anderson Sawira Gondwe on his appointment as the new Research Director for the MwAPATA Institute.

Happy Birthday to our Finance & Administration Manager, Ms. Mercy Chirwa 🎂

Happy Independence Day! 🇲🇼

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Happy birthday to our Research Fellow, Dr Anderson Sawira Gondwe 🎂