Hunger and undernutrition are intractable problems in Malawi. This study takes a Value Chains for Nutrition (VCN) approach, which examines the potential for harnessing markets for improved nutrition and food security. This case study from the Zomba District of southern Malawi applies data from household surveys, in-depth individual interviews, and market surveys to examine opportunities for improved diets through leveraging demand and supply of nutritious foods, and enhancing value chain performance with a nutrition lens. Preliminary results on bottlenecks and opportunities provide insights for policy and programs. This presentation and discussion was led by Noora-Lisa Aberman (IFPRI) along with virtual input from co-authors, Aulo Gelli (IFPRI), Jason Donovan (ICRAF), and Amy Margolies (JHU), on February 13, 2017 at IFPRI-Malawi.

1. HARNESSING MARKETS FOR
IMPROVED NUTRITION:
A Case Study of Zomba
Presented by Noora Aberman (IFPRI)
MaSSP Brown Bag Seminar Series, IFPRI-Lilongwe
With co-authors: Aulo Gelli (IFPRI), Jason Donovan (ICRAF), Amy Margolies (JHU)
Based on joint work with Corinna Hawkes, Spencer Henson, Marco Santacroce, and others.
GAIN, 10/11/2016.

2. Rationale forValue Chains for Nutrition
• Hunger and undernutrition are intractable problems in Malawi. Can we
harness markets to improve nutrition and food security?
• How can we make markets work better in terms of linking producers to
consumers and delivering nutrient-dense foods to enhance diets for the poor?
• Value chain framework: useful for examining food systems for potential to
achieve improved diets
• Applying the value chain concept to integrating agriculture and nutrition recognizes
need to examine all stages of food chain: production  consumption
• However understanding links between value chains, business environment, and
“nutrition” among targeted populations is complex and little rigorous evidence exists on
these links

3. TheVCN Approach
•Value Chains for Nutrition diagnostic
study implemented by IFPRI in Malawi,
with partners:
 WFP-Malawi
 IMMANA-LCIRAH (Leverhulme Centre for
Integrative Research on Agriculture and
Health)
 USAID-Malawi
 ICRAF-Peru (World Agroforesry Centre)
 Save the Children-Malawi

4. VCN Framework supports the identification and design of
interventions: supporting supply and demand of nutritious foods,
and enhancing value chain performance with a nutrition lens
Diagnostics involving 4 key steps*:
1. Understanding the nutrition problem
2. Examining the macro-level food systems context (the
enabling environment )
3. Characterizing diet patterns and relative contribution of
different crops/missing foods, contaminated foods, etc.;
4. Identify value chain constraints and opportunities related
to nutrition and food security.
* For more details see Gelli,A, Hawkes C and Donovan J. Food value chains and nutrition: Exploring opportunities for improving nutrition. In Pritchard et al. (ed), Routledge
Handbook of Food and Nutrition Security. Routledge, 2016.

5. TheVCN Approach
Quadrant B
High demand &
inadequate supply
Quadrant A
High demand &
adequate supply
Quadrant D
Low demand &
inadequate supply
Quadrant C
Low demand &
adequate supply
Demand
(Consumption
levels in
target
population)
Supply
(Year-round availability in
markets)

6. Zomba Case Study
•Analyzing new data from ongoing research in Zomba:
• Household surveys: 1200 households, 7 day recall consumption
module
• In-depth individual interviews: 56 in-depth interviews and 27
structured direct household observations
• Market assessment:
• Structured interviews with 47 traders located in the 5 main markets in Zomba
district
• Also, semi structured interviews with government agencies, businesses, traders

7. The nutrition problem
•In spite of improvements in recent years, stunting and
micronutrient deficiencies are still high
•Food crisis the past two years has almost half of
Malawians facing food shortages

8. Environment for Food and Nutrition
• Unimodal production cycle leads to highly seasonal prices and food
availability, also lumpy incomes affecting food access
• Thin markets and maize-heavy food preferences promote farming for
subsistence;
• Policies that support maize production reinforce subsistence farming and
maize-centric diets.

9. CHARACTERIZING DIET
PATTERNS

10. “Food is maize, but others require
money”
• Preferences for diverse foods: pulses, veg,
animal protein
• However, “maize first” preferences, budgetary
limitations, limited and seasonal availability,
hamper diverse diet
- Meat usually eaten at harvest time, and pulses are
sold if cash is required
“It is in our culture...food is maize, but others require
money” - Male respondent, Dual-head household,
Village 6, Zomba.

11. Coping with the lean season
• People eat less, and less preferred foods (sometimes
nutrient dense)
• Non-maize meals are not considered “food”, often
used to soothe children
• Buy-as-you-go approach to filling maize needs
“It helps when you have sugar, you can make tea and kids have that with avocado...if there
is cassava, you can cook for the kids and they can take it with water and cool down. If they
were crying of hunger, they stop crying.”
- Female respondent, Dual-headed household,Village 5, Zomba.

12. Household nutrient availability
Estimated adequacy of nutrient availability of household food consumption across 2 seasons, all households and
for households in the lowest expenditure quintile in Malawi
Source: NEEP baseline & Immana
follow-up surveys, Zomba,
Malawi. N=1,156 HH.
Early lean season
Early lean season
Peak lean season
Peak lean season

13. Food consumption
patterns across
seasons and
expenditure
quintiles per adult
equivalent
Source: NEEP baseline & Immana follow-up surveys, Zomba, Malawi.
All HHs:
~ 1 kg of
food /day
Lowest
quintile
only 40%

14. Contributions of foods to total nutrient intake and sourcing
patterns across two seasons
Food Calories Protein Iron Vitamin A Zinc
Share consumed
from production Calories Protein Iron Vitamin A Zinc
Share consumed
from production ∆ (PH-LS)
Maize 0.73 0.68 0.75 0.02 0.75 0.59 0.80 0.77 0.78 0.06 0.82 0.15 -0.45
Rice 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.06
Other Cereals 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.01 0.03 0.32 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.09 -0.23
Cassava 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 -0.10
Potato 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.07
Sweet Potato 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.18 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.12 -0.06
Beans and Soya 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.00 0.03 0.39 0.03 0.06 0.06 0.00 0.05 0.42 0.03
Peas 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.01 0.03 0.68 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.02 0.41 -0.27
Groundnut 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.00 0.03 0.18 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.19 0.01
Tomato 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.20 0.02 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.05 0.00 0.15 0.08
Pumpkin 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.84 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.06 0.01 0.74 -0.11
Leafy Green Vegetables 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.14 0.01 0.60 0.02 0.04 0.05 0.60 0.02 0.93 0.33
Other Vegetables 0.02 0.04 0.05 0.44 0.03 0.17 0.01 0.02 0.04 0.16 0.03 0.45 0.28
Banana 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.40 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.61 0.21
Mango 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.13 0.00 0.81 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.71 -0.10
Other Fruits 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.54 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.62 0.09
Eggs 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.36 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.54 0.18
Fish 0.01 0.05 0.01 0.00 0.02 0.03 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.00
Meat 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.39 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.51 0.12
Dairy 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.17 0.12
Fats and Oil 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.23 0.22
Sugar and Sweets 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.13 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.27 0.14
Condiments 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.04
Lean seasonPost harvest

15. IDENTIFYVALUE CHAIN
CONSTRAINTS AND
OPPORTUNITIES

16. Farmers understand markets, but are
constrained
• Farmers have a pretty good understanding of markets
• Constrained by limited resources and bargaining power
• Don’t like vendors but still use them due to time, cost and risk of going to
markets
• Stress sales are prevalent
• Seasonality decreases profit

17. Market analysis
• Features of the markets for selected nutritious
food products
• Bottlenecks and potential risks in production,
processing, distribution
• We looked at 6 products, chosen based on
dietary assessments: leafy greens, avocado,
chicken, fish, beans/peas, groundnuts

18. Overview of markets
Product
No. of
traders
Average
volume
brought
to
market
for sale unit
Main buyer types
Average
price*
(US$)
Price
variation unit
Market
shoppers
Traders,
street
venders,
restauran
ts
Leafy
greens 21 0.7
volume,
50kg
bag 19 2 0.04 20-50% heap
Dried fish 7 360 piece 6 1 0.51 25-200% heap
Dried beans
and peas 12 76.7
weight,
kg 6 6 0.31 25-50% tin plate
Avocado 9 115 piece 7 2 0.07
100-
300% piece
Chicken
(live) 6 18.5 piece 3 3 2.92 75-100% piece
Groundnuts 5 1.5
volume,
50kg
bag 3 2 0.74 ~300% tin plate

19. Overview of selected chains
Chain Chain reach Actors involved Inputs, services utilized
by chain actors
Level of processing
Leafy greens Localized: surrounding
villages
Producers, market
traders
None None
Dried fish Regional:
Shores of Lake Malawi
and Lake Chilwa
Fishermen, local and
regional traders
None Drying
Beans and peas Regional: sourced from
throughout the
country
Producers, traders
(large and small scale)
Transportation, storage Drying
Avocado Localized: surrounding
villages
Producers, market
traders
None None
Live chicken Localized:
surrounding villages
Producers, market
traders
None None
Groundnuts Regional: sourced from
throughout the
country
Producers, processors
(conventional and
niche markets), traders
(small and large scale)
Storage, marketing,
aflatoxin control
High, processed
peanut based
products for national
market

20. Biggest marketing challenge as reported by
sellers (n=47)
Challenge N of sellers
reporting as
biggest challenge
Low demand/excess supply 20
Lack of regular customers 11
Irregular demand (majority of
sales at end of month)*
3
Lack of capital / limited stock 7
Low quality product (e.g.
discoloured leaves due to lack of
fertilizer & sale in full sun, small
fish size)
3
Lack of transportation 2

21. Other challenges
- Inadequate market infrastructure: lack
of clean water and toilets; lack of
infrastructure for storage and selling;
and weak coordination among
sellers/producers.
- Limited evidence of product
differentiation based on origin, quality,
or other attributes
Greens being sold under full sun not under
covered shed

22. Applying the results into the 4 quadrants…
Quadrant B
High demand &
inadequate supply
Quadrant A
High demand &
adequate supply
Quadrant D
Low demand &
inadequate supply
Quadrant C
Low demand &
adequate supply
Demand
(Consumption
levels in
target
population)
Supply
(Year-round availability in
markets)

23. Dietary Change Demand & Supply
Characteristics
Consumer-related Issues Main Constraints Implications for Intervention
Design
Groundnuts are consumed
throughout the year but high
levels of aflatoxin contamination
is a major health risk
(QuadrantA)
Consumers willing and able to
purchase, & high availability
in markets during all or part of
the year
Sorting and grading likely to
result in low-income
consumers exposed to foods
w/ higher levels of aflatoxin
Gaps in regulatory
environment and quality
assurance; limited capacity &
weak incentives for
smallholder to invest in
improved production
Developing & testing third-party
quality assurance; strengthening
capacity of processors to minimize
food safety concerns
Beans & legumes are consumed
in low volumes, increased
consumption will improve diet
quality
(Quadrant B)
Consumers willing to
prioritize the purchase of food
when funds are available, but
limited availability some parts
of the year
Willingness to purchase and
prioritize over other food
(except miaze), consumers
with limited purchasing
capacity during peak demand
periods
Production bottlenecks limit
availability during periods
over the year; limited
incentives for traders to
engage in supplying local
markets
Innovation in production
technologies to expand availability;
improved coordination and other
measures (e.g. storage) with traders
to reduce costs
Animal source foods (esp. dried
fish) / Leafy greens:Available but
consumption is low; increased
consumption will improve diet
quality
(Quadrant C)
Low consumption, despite
generally high degree of
availability in local markets /
leafy greens only available in
lean season
Preferred foods but low
willingness to pay due to
insufficient budget
Producers and sellers with
limited opportunities to
expand or add value to
production due to limited
effective demand
Subsidies/social transfers to
facilitate consumption in critical
periods (e.g. lean season); support
to chain actors to reduce costs to
production and trading
Nutritious fruits (e.g. mangoes
and avocados) are not consumed
in significant amounts
throughout the year due to
limitations on both supply and
demand side; increased
consumption will improve diet
quality
(Quadrant D)
Low consumption; not
typically purchased due to
budget constraints and not
preferred; highly seasonal
availability
Low willingness to pay for
fruits, with preferences
towards consumption of
staples, fruits relatively
expensive during off-peak
seasons, adding further
deterrence to year round
consumption
Lack of storage and transport
facilities for highly perishable
products, limited demand
increases risk for production
developments and other
investments; few processors
and distributors engaged in
sector
Information campaigns to increase
acceptability; support to chain
actors to process or store to extend
shelf life; investments in local
marketing infrastructure;
Subsidies/social transfers to
facilitate consumption when in
season (school meals)

24. POLICY AND PROGRAM
IMPLICATIONS

25. Lean SeasonApproaches: No buying power
• Households are highly constrained in the lean season
• Little room to maneuver in diets – little buying power -> “pull”
• BCC wont be highly effective
• However, some lean season interventions have potential
• Promote underutilized foods in large-scale lean season interventions to
address the pull and the push
• For instance, supply avocado for school meals
• Or vouchers for purchasing leafy greens, provided along with MVAC
• These address: low demand, high supply, improved diets and improved
incomes for producers

26. Outside the lean season: education and
enhanced supply
• Financial constraints are loosened, so some room to influence
demand
• Promote behavior change to increase acceptability and
consumption of underutilized foods
• Provision of inputs for nutritious foods that aren’t typically preferred
(bio-fortified foods, drought tolerant foods, local “wild” foods) along
with education about benefits and preparation
• Extend the time period for which leafy greens are available into
the months when people can afford them
• Inputs (seeds) for hearty leafy greens, plus simple irrigation approaches
(in areas where there is a nearby water source)

27. Evidence from 2 interventions
• Effects of MVAC Lean Season FoodTransfers during the 2016 lean season on food
security, diets and nutrition status of young children in Zomba district in Malawi (quasi-
experimental)
• Food transfers increased calories and nutrient consumption for adults and children
• Effect on diets driven by consumption of vegetables, milk and dairy, oils and fats
• Effects concentrated on the very poor
• Impact of agricultural training and input provision on diets, food security and production
(RCT)
• Intervention: provision of inputs (seeds/vines) of nutritious foods and training
• Improved production diversity, driven by increase in planting of legumes (beans) and roots and
tubers (orange fleshed sweet potato)
• Also small effect of ag-intervention on dietary diversity for children 36-72months (DID
coefficient 0.32 (p<0.001), ~0.06 SD) even before nutrition training had started, driven by
consumption of fruits
• Food transfers had bigger effect, but short term. Inputs and training had smaller
effect but we expect the effects to continue over time.

28. Different seasons call for different support
• Results point to the need for a layered approach to
interventions:
• Complementary role of
• 1) lean season food transfers to smoothen consumption and
protect vulnerable households from seasonal price spikes
(quadrant C), and of
• 2) ag-nutrition inputs and training to promote longer term
investment shaping supply of (and demand for) nutritious foods
(quadrant B)

29. Thank you! Now we would like your
thoughts and inputs…

30. Acknowledgements
• Research by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Save the Children,
ChancellorCollege at the U. of Malawi andWadonda:
• AishaTwalibu, Natalie Roschnik, George Chidalengwa, Helen Moestue, Mangani Katundu,
Owen Nkhoma, Ephraim Chirwa, Peter Mvula, Stefan Meyer, Bob Baulch, Dan Gilligan,
Shalini Roy, Jef Leroy.
• Programs implemented byWFP and Save the Children with local partner NGOs
• Research funded by:
• NEEP
• IMMANA
• Gender, Agriculture and Assets Project (GAAP)
• USAID–Malawi (support for MaSSP)
• CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) led by IFPRI.
• Program and research participants