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IFAD
in Malawi
Since 1981 IFAD has committed a total of US$101.8 million for nine programmes and projects in Malawi, and US$2.4 million for three technical assistance grants. Early investments supported area-based rural and agricultural development projects. They had the aim of improving community infrastructure and smallholder access to credit, and they supported increased use of fertilizer to improve yields on land characterized by declining fertility. In line with the government’s view that irrigation is one of the means available to significantly expand agricultural production, IFAD’s most recent investment in the country will co-finance the Irrigation, Rural Livelihoods and Agricultural Development Project initiated by the World Bank. The project builds on another IFAD-funded operation, the Smallholder Flood Plains Development Programme, which tapped the potential for small-scale, supplementary irrigation development in flood plains areas. It improved the efficiency and extent of wetland gardening and flood plains rice cultivation, and expanded small and medium-scale irrigation from surface water and groundwater. A seven-year project financed by IFAD in partnership with the World Bank supports irrigation development and rehabilitation of existing irrigation schemes. It emphasizes operation, management and eventual ownership of irrigation schemes by local farmers, who are grouped in water users’ associations. Many of the farmers are women. Investments in the ongoing Rural Livelihoods Support Programme also strengthen the decentralization process by building the capacity of local people and institutions, and promote sustainable natural resource management. Inputs for assets is a key aspect of this component in order to improve household food production capacity. Both operations are implemented through independent management units with support from NGOs working directly with groups, organizations and institutions at field level. The new Rural Livelihoods and Economic Enhancement Programme aims to ensure that poor rural households engaged in agriculture, livestock and fish production have a role in the increasingly competitive, liberalized economy. The programme will engage the private sector to provide small-scale crop, livestock and fish producers and processors with the knowledge and skills they need to participate fully in the marketplace. IFAD’s operations in Malawi are in harmony with the government’s focus on promoting growth in rural areas to reduce poverty and improve people’s living standards. IFAD’s goal is to strengthen the livelihoods of rural poor people through agricultural development and diversification. IFAD’s strategy in MalawiA substantial amount of assistance is directed towards the core poor by donors who also support activities providing safety-net type assistance. IFAD operations in the country focus on supporting effective initiatives with longer-term goals. Investments by IFAD support growth paths for two specific target groups:
To reduce poverty by improving poor people’s livelihoods, IFAD finances operations that:
Participating in policy dialogue with other donors and with the government ranks high on IFAD’s agenda in Malawi. Priority areas for dialogue include the issue of market-led agricultural growth as a means of poverty reduction, and the need for consistency in policy implementation to foster the emergence of private-sector operators and farmers’ organizations. In dialogue with other donors IFAD examines what impact emergency relief efforts have on long-term development policies, and how the extension of grants beyond an emergency period can undermine incentives for poor farmers. IFAD also supports a stronger framework for donor coordination. Policy dialogue with the government focuses on incentive frameworks for agriculture and implementation of existing policies at the grass-roots level.
Source: IFAD |
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