Policy Brief

The Malawi Fertiliser

Subsidy Programme:
politics and pragmatism

any people hoped that the end of one- of all rural households are short of self-produced
party rule in Malawi in May 1994 would staple foods for four to five months of the year.
The gravity of the crisis
pave the way
was underlined by two
for economic recovery
Box 1: Causes of the food crisis in
episodes of severe
and social developMalawi
hunger during the
ment. Instead, however,
2001/2002 and
the democratisation
The contemporary food crisis in Malawi was
2004/2005
growing
process has coincided
caused by a number of important events in
seasons, which turned
with a deepening crisis
the mid 1990s. These included the collapse of
smallholder-farmer credit-clubs; the removal
food security into a
in Malawis agricultural
of subsidies on fertiliser and hybrid maize
highly charged politsector. Between the
seed and the liberalisation of agricultural
ical issue.
1970s and the 1990s,
markets; a sharp currency devaluation;
the country went from
persistent adverse climatic patterns over the
producing an agriculOrigins of the
course of a decade; rapid population growth;
tural surplus to a
Fertiliser
a land policy that only allowed for one-way
substantial food deficit.
Subsidy
transferability of land from the customary to
the estate sector; rampant deforestation and
Pe r c a p i t a m a i z e
Programme
land degradation; and the slow uptake of
production fell signifiThe origins of the
technology. The civil war in Mozambique
cantly during the
Fer tiliser Subsidy
further exacerbated the situation, because it
1990s.
Programme (FSP) can
not only cut food supplies from that country
Food insecurity has
be traced to the elecbut Malawi also had to cope with an influx of
become endemic.
toral campaigning
about one million refugees.
About 7080 per cent
leading up to the May

Policy Brief 022 | February 2008

www.future-agricultures.org

2004 elections, in which both the ruling United

Democratic Front (UDF) and the opposition
block, led by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP),
pledged to introduce some kind of universal
fertiliser subsidy programme.
The UDF won the elections and proceeded
to form a government. After a long delay which
encouraged expectations that a universal
subsidy programme would be implemented in
August 2005, the government announced a
substantial expansion of the existing Targeted
Input Programme (TIP). The Extended TIP (ETIP)
would provide a package of 26 kg fertiliser and
5 kg of seed to about 2.8 million beneficiaries.
This was a significant increase over the 1.5

million households targeted under the TIP, but

fell short of expectations of cheap fertiliser for
everyone.
The long delay in announcing the new
measures produced uncertainty that had two
serious consequences for the 2004/2005
growing season. First, it made it extremely difficult for the private sector to make orders for
fertiliser on a timely basis. This in turn led to
scarcity of fertiliser on the market, even for those
farmers who could afford to buy it at the
prevailing market prices.
Second, the ETIP inputs arrived very late, due
to the time required to import fertiliser from
overseas suppliers. As a result, the distribution

Box 2: Donor views of the subsidy programme diverged into three

distinct categories:
1. Total opposition. Chief advocates of this view were the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This group argued that subsidies
would create market distortions that would make private-sector development virtually
impossible and risk wiping out the private fertiliser sector altogether.
They also argued that the benefits of fertiliser subsidies are generally captured by relatively
well-off farmers and that administrative costs, leakages and targeting problems made
subsidies a grossly inefficient way to target the poor. They called for market-based mechanisms instead.
2. Sceptical, but willing to contemplate subsidy. This group included DFID, the World Bank
and the European Union, among others. These donors were concerned about the governments capacity to implement the subsidy programme and emphasised the challenges
involved in targeting. However, they conceded that some type of smart subsidy, building on
the lessons of the TIP, might be feasible.
Whereas this group also favoured market-based mechanisms, they were willing to accept
subsidies as a short-term measure so long as they would not crowd-out private sector
development.
3. Supportive of subsidies. Donors in this category included most of the UN agencies and the
Norwegian government, with the support of many local and international NGOs including
major players Oxfam, ActionAid and Plan International. These agencies supported the subsidy
programme on the grounds that fertiliser is critical to boosting production and assuring food
security, and that subsidies could be phased out over time once farmers had built up their
capacity.
This group argued that agriculture in Malawi would not survive without subsidies, which
would not distort the market because the private sector is almost non-existent. They argued
that subsidies could lead to net welfare gains by encouraging an expansion in fertiliser use
toward the socially optimal level. Although some NGOs recognised a leading role for the
private sector in agricultural development, they emphasised the key role of the government in
fostering properly functioning markets.

Policy Brief 022 | February 2008

of ETIP inputs was delayed, and in most cases

arrived when the maize had already developed
past the critical stage for the application of basal
dressing fertiliser. Coupled with a severe
drought, these problems culminated in a severe
hunger crisis affecting about four million
Malawians in 2004/2005.

The debt dimension

Photograph: Jan Banning

The likely explanation for the governments

hesitation to implement a universal fertiliser
subsidy programme was its fear of jeopardising
the countrys prospects of qualifying for debt
relief through the implementation of the Malawi
Poverty Reduction Strategy (MPRS). The restoration of fiscal prudence and discipline was one
of the key conditions demanded by the donor
community, in order for the country to qualify
for relief of the US$ 113 million national debt.
The 2004/2005 hunger crisis intensified
debate about the need to reintroduce a fertiliser

subsidy programme in the country. In particular,

the crisis provided opposition political parties
and advocacy groups with a platform to attack
the government for its failure to deliver on the
promises made during the 2004 electoral
campaign.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Committee on
Agriculture and Natural Resources which was
dominated by the opposition MCP called for
the introduction a universal fertiliser subsidy for
both maize and tobacco. The committee argued
that, by targeting both crops, such a subsidy
would address both the supply and demand
sides of the food security equation.
Against this background, the UKs Department
for International Development (DFID)
announced its withdrawal of support for the TIP.
DFID was, by this time, the only donor still
backing the programme. Its decision reflected
an assessment that the TIP was not the best way
of offering support to the agricultural sector. A

A queue of people at a point of sale for state-subsidised maize and fertiliser.

www.future-agricultures.org

Photograph: Petterik

Sebeta, Oromia , Ethiopia

key problem was that the programme targeted
the very poorest households, which were often
not able to make productive use of the inputs
and often ended up either selling them or not
putting them to maximum productive use.
DFIDs decision to withdraw its backing was a
major blow, which raised concern that the
closure of the TIP would jeopardise food security
for many households.

The political dimension

Faced with mounting pressure, the president
first announced the introduction of a new fertiliser subsidy programme in June 2005. The
subsidy would be targeted at resourceconstrained but productive maize farmers. The
general objective was to provide fertiliser, not
as a safety net but as a resource for people who
had the capability to use it effectively but would
otherwise have difficulty in obtaining it.
Policy Brief 022 | February 2008

The president ruled out a universal fertiliser

subsidy programme, arguing that Malawi could
not afford to implement such a measure. The
FSP was estimated to cost between MK 23
billion. In parliament, however, opposition
parties took advantage of the presidents weakened support to press its case for a universal
programme, making it a precondition for passing
the 2005/2006 budget. The government eventually bowed to their demands and a universal
fertiliser subsidy programme was agreed.
This decision pushed the budget for the
scheme to MK 4.7 billion (about US $ 35 million)
and also necessitated a change in the design of
the programme, to involve private sector
companies in running it. This decision was taken
to allay concern that private companies would
be put out of business by the plan. Nevertheless,
owing to political sensitivities around food security, private sector firms were excluded from
fertiliser distribution.

Design issues

Debate then moved to the mode of implementation. Many members of parliament assumed
that any smallholder farmer would be entitled
to buy as many bags of fertiliser under the
scheme as he or she could afford. However, the
government opted to introduce a coupon
scheme, in order to limit the amount of fertiliser
that an individual household could access. This
was justified both as a cost-control mechanism
and on the grounds of equity.
Opposition parties argued that the coupon
scheme violated the terms of the parliamentary
resolution, which had called for a universal
subsidy. In its defence, the government argued
that it would be impossible to reach every maize
and tobacco farmer within the MK 4.7 billion
budget ceiling earmarked for the programme.
Ministers claimed that a universal subsidy would
require MK 12 billion. They argued that implementing the programme without any control
system in place would have led to a situation in
which big farmers and informal traders would
have been the main beneficiaries, instead of the
poorest.
One hundred and forty-seven thousand
tonnes of fertilisers were earmarked for the
subsidy scheme. However, only about 127,000
tonnes were actually distributed, representing
about 75 per cent of the total number of coupons
issued. Nevertheless, the total costs of the
scheme surged to MK 7.1 billion in the course
of implementation, equivalent to about 8.3 per
cent of the total national budget for the
2005/2006 fiscal year.

Donor attitudes

Some critics, particularly donors, argued that

the FSP undermined the long-term effort to
reform and liberalise the agricultural economy.
No donor supported the 2004/2006 programme

Box 3: Impacts of the Fertiliser

Subsidy Programme
The FSP has been estimated to have boosted
maize production by about 1522 per cent
during 2005/2006. The subsidy also reportedly had a positive impact on livelihoods,
because of lower maize prices and substantially increased wage rates for ganyu (casual
labour).
However, the FSP is thought to have
negatively affected the development of the
agro-dealer network that had been taking
shape since the advent of liberalization.
About 6070 per cent of fertiliser retail
outlets were closed and a good proportion of
their staff laid off as a result of reduced sales.

Source: Dorward, et al. (2007)

and the full cost was borne by the Malawian
government.
However, the absence of donor support actually reinforced domestic support for the
programme. Notwithstanding the differences
between the government and the opposition
regarding the modalities of implementation,
there was a strong consensus about the need
for such a measure. The 2004/2005 food crisis
convinced many people that the subsidy
programme would be much cheaper than
importing food in times of crisis.
A study by Stambuli (2002) was often invoked,
in which he estimated that a tonne of imported
maize at a cost of about US$ 300 would feed
five families for about 96 days, whereas the same
sum would be adequate to procure enough
fertiliser to support seven hectares of farmland
to produce 13 tonnes of maize that would feed
the same five families for about 10 months.

Impact of the FSP

The 2005/2006 FSP was fairly successful despite

a number of serious problems, including logistical difficulties and allegations of corruption in
www.future-agricultures.org

the distribution of coupons. Nevertheless, the

subsidy appeared to have an unprecedented
impact on maize yield. In 2006, Malawi enjoyed
its biggest ever maize harvest of 2.6 million
metric tonnes, at least half a million tonnes more
than the countrys annual requirement.

The donor response

Photograph: David Hughes

The apparent success of the 2005/2006 subsidy

programme has, for the first time in many years,
challenged the dominance of aid donors in
agricultural policy-making in Malawi. Donors
who had opposed the subsidy, previously very
influential in policy-making, now found themselves out on a limb.
In response, a certain reluctant pragmatism
emerged among the donors. This is particularly
evident in their willingness to undertake a series
of studies on the subsidy programme, with a
view to informing their engagement with the
government, which remained firmly committed

to the programme. Pragmatically, they recognised that they had to engage with the programme
in order to remain relevant.
During 2006, a group of donors, including
DFID, USAID and the World Bank, commissioned
studies to learn from lessons from the 2005/2006
experience. Based on the findings of these
studies, the donors developed a set of conditions for offering their support to the subsidy
programme, including:
Greater involvement of the private sector in
both the procurement and the distribution
of subsidised fertiliser and other farm inputs,
on equal terms with public-sector
agencies.
Promotion of choice for beneficiaries, in
terms of the range of fertilisers involved, and
outlets from where fertilisers and seeds are
procured.

Urea fertiliser stocked ready for distribution.

Policy Brief 022 | February 2008

Extension of the subsidy intervention to

other crops besides maize and tobacco, in
order to promote crop diversification.
Developing plans for marketing and storage,
especially during times of excess
production.

Concluding Reflections

A combination of maize-, tobacco-, electoral,

legislative and aid-politics had in different ways
influenced, affected and shaped the form and
content of the FSP. This case study therefore
raises a fundamental question about the policymaking process: What happens when the values
of democracy and electoral legitimacy a strong
theme in donorspositions ongood governance
collide with the economic policies espoused
by the same donors?
Key lessons include the following. The
domestic political-economic context and unique
circumstances of each country have to be taken
into account in policy formulation. Supposedly
second-best options, which nevertheless work
in a particular context, are preferable to
dogmatic, one -size-fits-all policy
prescriptions.
There is a need to grasp fully the array of
stakeholders and their competing interests,
views and demands in the policy process.
Understanding these interests is critical for
analyzing potential trade-offs. Assuming that
policies emerge from technical reasoning and
first principles economic theory will result in
policy failure.
Strong domestic leadership and a democratic
mandate mean that donors need to adopt a
more pragmatic, reflexive attitude in their
approach to development polic y in
agriculture.

www.future-agricultures.org

Photograph credit

Acknowledgements
This Policy Brief was written by Blessings Chinsinga of the Future Agricultures Consortium. The series editor is David
Hughes. Further information about this series of Policy Briefs at: www. future-agricultures.org
The Future Agricultures Consortium aims to encourage critical debate and policy dialogue on the future of agriculture in
Africa. The Consortium is a partnership between research-based organisations across Africa and in the UK.
Future Agricultures Consortium Secretariat at the University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE UK T +44 (0) 1273 915670
E [email protected]
Readers are encouraged to quote or reproduce material from Future Agricultures Briefings in their own publications. In return, the
Future Agricultures Consortium requests due acknowledgement and a copy of the publication.
FAC appreciates the support of the
UK Department for International Development (DfID)

Policy Brief 022 | February 2008

www.future-agricultures.org