Economic experts have proposed that at least 60 percent of Malawi’s maize production be commercialised through recoverable input loans targeting medium and large-scale farmers with proven production capacity.
The Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) made the submissions during the Ministry of Finance’s pre-budget consultations for the 2026-27 national budget, calling for structural transformation in the agriculture sector.
Ecama proposed attaching performance-based conditions to input loans, including requirements for farmers to allocate part of their hectarage to export-oriented crops such as legumes and macadamia nuts to boost foreign exchange earnings.
The association emphasised the need to anchor implementation in functional market institutions and address governance weaknesses through contract farming and structured markets.
“There is [a] need to strengthen agro-industrial linkages into value addition, rural employment creation and import-substitution interventions,” Ecama’s written submission reads.
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Agriculture policy analyst Leonard Chimwaza said there was a need to revise the proposed Crops Bill to guide production interventions that would help improve the sector’s productivity.
“Within the bill, which is yet to be tabled in Parliament, there are propositions to commercialise maize by ensuring that farmers already organised in cooperatives are involved in large-scale production,” Chimwaza said.
He added that the initiative should incorporate issues such as mechanisation and access to input loans, particularly for farmers who are interested in producing maize on commercial basis.
However, Chimwaza noted that maize, as a staple food, was also a political crop, making its commercialisation difficult.
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He proposed increased support and incentives for other cash crops such as cotton to complement maize production and improve the country’s export earnings.
“We have macadamia, coffee, sugarcane, tea and tobacco. These crops have the potential to economically empower farmers. We should not place an excessive burden on maize when other crops can also help move the economy forward,” Chimwaza said.
According to Chimwaza, cotton is Malawi’s fourth strategic crop but production has declined sharply over the past decade from about 100,000 metric tonnes (mt) annually to less than 10,000mt.
“This means we have an industry that is not being fully exploited,” he said.
Malawi’s economy heavily relies on agriculture, with maize as the key staple food.
However, climate-related shocks and rising input costs have negatively affected production in recent years.
During the 2024-25 growing season, adverse weather conditions resulted in a maize deficit of 537,380mt against an annual requirement of 3.1mt, leaving more than four million people food insecure.
A study on the responsiveness of maize yields to fertiliser use across six African countries, including Malawi, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute in January 2025, recommended reducing fertiliser subsidies from 80 percent to a more sustainable level of about 40 percent.
The study argued that this would promote private-sector participation while freeing up public resources for other critical sectors.
Agricultural productivity and commercialisation form the first pillar of the country’s long-term development blueprint, the Malawi 2063 vision, which aims to achieve an optimally productive and commercialised agriculture sector through mechanisation, improved productivity and climate-smart agriculture.
