Lessons from Malawi: How agriculture success story went horribly wrong

By MASIMBA TAFIRENYIKA LILONGWE, MALAWI: In 2012, Malawi found itself in a tight spot, again. A food crisis set off by erratic rains, rising food prices and economic hardships slowly unfolded. For the first time in several years, the country’s ability to feed its citizens was at risk. Sadly and unexpectedly, Malawi lost its hard-earned status as an agricultural success story — it used to produce enough maize for its people to eat and still provide a surplus to neighbours. Many wondered what went wrong and whether there could be lessons for other African countries. Certainly Kenya, which faces food shortages with alarming regularity, can glean some insight from Malawi. In the southeast African country, more than 1.63 million people, or 11 per cent of the population, faced severe food shortages in 2012, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), a UN relief agency.