Presented by John Mazunda, Presented at Report Launch "Mapping Linkages Between Agriculture, Food Security and Agriculture in Malawi" Ufulu Gardens, 28th April, 2015

1. Food security implication of crop diversification in
Malawi’s farm households
John Mazunda, Karl Pauw, and Henry Kankwamba
Presented at Ufulu Gardens, 28 April, 2015

2. Introduction
• Malawi’s food security is generally equated with adequate maize
production
• Maize accounts for two-thirds of total calorie availability
• Government has placed great emphasis on maize production for
food self-sufficiency at both household and national levels
• Programs have been adopted to intensify input use and
encourage adoption of improved seed varieties (i.e. FISP)
• Increase in national maize productivity but poor diet diversity
(Figure 1)

3. Maize production and calorie intake

4. Why crop diversification?
•Increase in maize production may have increased maize-self
sufficiency but diets remain poorly diversified
•Malawi’s agricultural strategy is explicit in its presumption
that crop diversification leads to improved nutrition security
(i.e. ASWAp)
•Pathways for achieving crop related impacts on nutrition are
unclear in ASWAp document
•Objective: To asses impact of crop diversification on
household dietary diversity

5. Diversification pathways
•Agricultural diversification can influence household dietary
diversity through the following pathways
i. Production for improved food security:
Farm production diversity has an important effect on farm
household dietary diversity (Jones et al. 2014). Other studies also
allude to the importance of crop diversification on dietary
diversity and nutrient adequacy ( Herforth, 2010; Torheim et al.
2004)
II. Incomes for improved food security:
Crop diversification promoted for its ability to enhance household
incomes and ensure food and nutrition security. Impact range from
poverty mitigation to increased food security and nutrition (plus
education) (Haddad, 2000; Bhagowalia et al. 2012)

6. Data and analysis
•Data based on Malawi Third Integrated Household Survey
(IHS3) with focus on agricultural households
•Survey is nationally representative and designed to provide
information of various aspects: income, consumption,
demographics
•Crop diversification measured using the Simpson Index of
Diversification (SID)
•Crops considered include cereals, root crops, pulses and
nuts, and horticultural related crops

7. Measuring dietary diversity and micronutrient access
• Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) used as an outcome
variable in the analysis
• HDDS was developed by FOOD and Nutrition Technical Assistance
Project (FANTA) of USAID. It has a maximum score of 12 food
groups
• A number of studies give strong evidence that dietary diversity is
associated with food security (Heady & Ecker 2013; Kennedy et
al. 2007). Validated for food security
• Considering limitations in HDDS, impact of crop diversification on
household micronutrient access is also estimated

8. Estimation Results (outcome equation: HDDS)
Variable Coefficient
Crop diversification 0.1878***
Age of household head -0.0020***
Gender of the household head (Male
= 1)
0.0511*
Education (Yes =1) 0.1199***
Household Size -0.2268***
North 0.3047***
Robust standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1

9. Estimation Results (outcome equation: Micronutrients
Variables Iron Vitamin A Folate Zinc
Diversification 0.345*** 0.475*** 0.449*** 0.347***
Sanitation 0.064*** 0.065 0.087*** 0.135***
Education 0.075*** 0.171*** 0.115*** 0.092***

10. Conclusions
•Achieving food security and improving nutritional outcomes
is an important policy agenda for the government of Malawi
•Crop diversification is strongly associated with increased
dietary diversity (19%) and hence food security; also with
improved household access to micro-nutrients
•In current context of weakly integrated markets, promoting
farm-level crop diversification can lead to improved
nutritional outcomes
•However, crop diversification could also be a regional
strategy; i.e. when coupled with policies that strengthen
markets. Dietary outcomes may still improve even when
individual farmers specialize in production

11. Thank You