Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Smallholder Burley Reform Process and Maize Production in Malawi 1990–2005

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Tobacco, Transformation and Development Dilemmas from Central Africa

  • 120 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter introduces the reform process in the 1990s that encouraged smallholder adoption of burley tobacco. After describing the momentum that led to such a significant policy change, the chapter investigates whether adoption of burley tobacco led to increases in maize production and productivity by applying propensity score matching to three cross-sections. The findings suggest tobacco growers increased local not hybrid maize production and productivity, sold less and purchased more maize, but, surprisingly, conducted more and worse coping strategies than non-growers in the famine year of 2001/2002. The chapter concludes by highlighting how smallholders’ preference for local maize has relevance for current national policy debates.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderman, T. L., Remans, R., Wood, S. A., DeRosa, K., & DeFries, R. S. (2014). Synergies and Tradeoffs Between Cash Crop Production and Food Security: A Case Study in Rural Ghana. Food Security, 6(4), 541–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barahona, C., & Cromwell, E. (2005). Starter Pack and Sustainable Agriculture. In S. Levy (Ed.), Starter Packs: A Strategy to Fight Hunger in Developing Countries? Wallingford: CABI Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird, K., Booth, D., & Pratt, N. (2003). Food Security Crisis in Southern Africa: The Political Background to Policy Failure. Forum for Food Security in Southern Africa, Theme Paper No. 1. London: Overseas Development Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caliendo, M., & Kopeinig, S. (2008). Some Practical Guidance for the Implementation of Propensity Score Matching. Journal of Economic Surveys, 22(1), 31–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carvalho, J., Gordon, D., Hirschmann, D., Martella, D., & Simmons, E. (1993). Mid-Term Evaluation of the Agricultural Sector Assistance Program (ASAP). Lilongwe: USAID.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conroy, A. C. (1993) The Economics of Smallholder Maize Production in Malawi with Reference to the Market for Hybrid Seed and Fertilizer. Unpublished Ph.D, University of Manchester, Manchester.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Waal, A., & Whiteside, A. (2003). New Variant Famine: AIDS and Food Crisis in Southern Africa. The Lancet, 362, 1234–1237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devereux, S. (1999). Making Less Last Longer: Informal Safety Nets in Malawi. IDS Discussion Paper 373. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devereux, S. (2002). State of Disaster – Causes, Consequences and Policy Lessons from Malawi. Lilongwe: ActionAid.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devereux, S., & Maxwell, S. (2001). Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa. London: ITDG.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Diagne, A., & Zeller, M. (2001). Access to Credit and Its Impact on Welfare in Malawi. IFPRI Research Report 116. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diagne, A., Zeller, M., & Mataya, C. (1996). Rural Financial Markets and Household Food Security: Impacts of Access to Credit on the Socio-Economic Situation of Rural Households in Malawi. Lilongwe/Washington, DC: Rural Development Department, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi/International Food Policy Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorward, A., & Kydd, J. (2004). The Malawi 2002 Food Crisis: The Rural Development Challenge. Journal of Modern African Studies, 42, 343–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorward, A., Kydd, J., & Poulton, C. (Eds.). (1998). Smallholder Cash Crop Production Under Market Liberalisation. Wallingford: Cabi International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorward, A., Kydd, J., Morrison, J., & Urey, I. (2004). A Policy Agenda for Pro-poor Agricultural Growth. World Development, 32(1), 73–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, J. (1997). Rapid Assessment of the Impact of Policy Changes on Rural Livelihoods in Malawi. Washington, DC: East and Southern Africa Agriculture Division, World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Francis, E. (2000). Making a Living: Changing Livelihoods in Rural Africa. London/New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gertler, P. J., Martinez, S., Premand, P., Rawlings, L. B., & Vermeersch, C. M. J. (2010). Impact Evaluation in Practice. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Govereh, J., & Jayne, T. S. (2003). Cash Cropping and Food Crop Productivity: Synergies or Trade-Offs? Agricultural Economics, 28(1), 39–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Govereh, J., Jayne, T. S., & Nyoro, J. (1999). Smallholder Commercialization, Interlinked Markets and Food Crop Productivity: Cross-Country Evidence in Eastern and Southern Africa. East Lansing: Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural Economics and Department of Economics, 39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, S., & Fraser, M. W. (2009). Propensity Score Analysis: Statistical Methods and Applications. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrigan, J. (2001). From Dictatorship to Democracy: Economic Policy in Malawi, 1964–2000. Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iliffe, J. (1984). The Poor in the Modern History of Malawi. In Malawi: An Alternative Pattern of Development, Conference Proceedings. Edinburgh: Centre for African Studies, University of Edinburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee, S. (1997). Malawi Agriculture: Recent Structural Transformation and Future Prospects – Background Paper for the Malawi Growth Prospects Study. Washington, DC: East and Southern Africa Agriculture Division, World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee, S. (2003). Malawi’s Tobacco Sector: Standing on One Strong Leg Is Better Than on None. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayne, T. S. (1994). Do High Food Marketing Costs Constrain Cash Crop Production? Evidence from Zimbabwe. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 42(2), 387–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khandker, S., Koolwal, G., & Samad, H. (2010). Handbook on Impact Evaluation: Quantitative Methods and Practices. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kydd, J. (1989). Maize Research in Malawi: Lessons from Failure. Journal of International Development, 1(1), 112–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, S. (Ed.). (2005). Starter Packs: A Strategy to Fight Hunger in Developing Countries? Wallingford: CABI Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, S., & Barahona, C. (2002). 2001–02 Targeted Inputs Programme (TIP) – Main Report of the Evaluation Programme. Lilongwe/London: The Ministry for Agriculture and Irrigation/Department for International Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Longhurst, R. (1988). Cash Crops, Household Food Security and Nutrition. IDS Bulletin, 19(2), 28–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, S., & Fernando, A. (1989). Cash Crops in Developing Countries – The Issues, the Facts, the Policies. World Development, 17(11), 1677–1708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, C. (2000). Changing Livelihoods: The Free State, 1990s. African Studies, 59(1), 115–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orr, A. (2000). Green Gold? Burley Tobacco, Smallholder Agriculture, and Poverty Alleviation in Malawi. World Development, 28(2), 347–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orr, A., & Mwale, B. (2001). Adapting to Adjustment: Smallholder Livelihood Strategies in Southern Malawi. World Development, 29(8), 1325–1343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, P. E. (1996). Failed Magic or Social Context? Market Liberalization and the Rural Poor in Malawi. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Institute for International Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, P. (2004). The Differential Effects on Rural Income and Poverty of a Decade of Radical Change in Malawi, 1986–97. Journal of Development Studies, 42(2), 322–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Potter, H. (2003). The Malawi Experience 2001–3. London: DfID.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prowse, M. (2009). Becoming a Bwana and Burley Tobacco in the Central Region of Malawi. Journal of Modern African Studies, 47(4), 575–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prowse, M. (2010). Integrating Reflexivity in Livelihoods Research. Progress in Development Studies, 10(3), 211–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prowse, M. (2013). A History of Tobacco Production and Marketing in Malawi, 1890–2005. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 7(4), 691–712.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riley, B. (1997). Mid-Project Review – Smallholder Agribusiness Development Project. Washington, DC: Agricultural Cooperative Development International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, B. (2001). Smallholder Agribusiness Development Project Phase II – End of Project Review: Final Report. Washington, DC: Agricultural Cooperative Development International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1983). The Central Role of the Propensity Score in Observational Studies for Causal Effects. Biometrika, 70(1), 41–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubey, L. (2003). Malawi’s Food Crisis: Causes and Solutions. Lilongwe: USAID.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smale, M. (1995). Maize Is Life: Malawi’s Delayed Green Revolution. World Development, 23(5), 819–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smallholder Agribusiness Development Project (SADP). (1997). Past, Present and Future Performance of the Smallholder Tobacco Farmer in Malawi 1994–2000 – A Case for Continued Institutional Support. Lilongwe: Smallholder Agribusiness Development Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smallholder Agribusiness Development Project (SADP). (1999). The Squeeze of the Market System: Improving the Profit Margin Between Production Costs and Sales – Reducing Marketing Costs Is the Immediate Best Bet. Lilongwe: Smallholder Agribusiness Development Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, C., Devereux, S., & Keenan, J. (2002). The Malawi Famine of 2002: More Questions Than Answers. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tobin, R. J., & Knausenberger, W. I. (1998). Dilemmas of Development: Burley Tobacco, the Environment and Economic Growth in Malawi. Journal of Southern African Studies, 24(2), 405–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USAID. (1991). Agricultural Sector Assistance Program (ASAP) Vol. I: Program Assistance Approval Document. Lilongwe: USAID.

    Google Scholar 

  • USAID. (1994). Malawi Agriculture Sector Assistance Program (ASAP) PAAD Amendment. Lilongwe: USAID.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Donge, J. K. (2002). Disordering the Market: The Liberalisation of Burley Tobacco in Malawi in the 1990s. Journal of Southern African Studies, 28(1), 89–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaughan, M. (1987). The Story of an African Famine: Gender and Famine in Twentieth-Century Malawi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Von Braun, J. (1995). Agricultural Commercialization: Impacts on Income and Nutrition and Implications for Policy. Food Policy, 20(3), 187–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Von Braun, J., & Kennedy, E. (1994). Agricultural Commercialization, Economic Development and Nutrition. Baltimore: Published for the International Food Policy Research Institute by Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (1994). Project Completion Report: Malawi – Agricultural Sector Adjustment Credit – Cr. 2121-MAI. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (1995). Agricultural Sector Memorandum – Strategy Options in the 1990s. Washington, DC: Southern Africa Department, Agriculture and Environment Division, World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeller, M. (1997). Growth Linkages of Smallholder Tobacco Production in Malawi. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeller, M., Diagne, A., & Mataya, C. (1998). Market Access by Smallholder Farmers in Malawi – Implications for Technology Adoption, Agricultural Productivity and Crop Income. Agricultural Economics, 19, 219–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Cambridge, UK

    Martin Prowse

  2. European Center for Sociology and Political Science, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France

    Paul Grassin

Authors
  1. Martin Prowse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paul Grassin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Prowse .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Prowse, M., Grassin, P. (2020). Smallholder Burley Reform Process and Maize Production in Malawi 1990–2005. In: Tobacco, Transformation and Development Dilemmas from Central Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33985-2_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation