Node training & common Vision Workshop

1. Node training & common Vision Workshop April 1st - 2nd, 2009 Pretoria, South Africa policy@fanrpan.org www.fanrpan.org

2. Agricultural Input Subsidy Program

3. Overview • Agriculture plays a vital role in economic development and is central to rural development and alleviation of poverty amongst the rural people • Agricultural sector provides • Raw material to industrial sector • Creates employment • Major input in human development and economic growth

4. Continued • The sector has been declining in recent years • The Underlying causes • Adverse weather • Biological • Socio-economic • Institution and cultural constraints • Low usage of agricultural inputs • Deficiencies in farmers’ management practices

5. The decline in performance has lead to government, donor agencies and NGOs to initiate a number of interventions to support smallholder farmer • The purpose • To increase agriculture productivity • Ensure food security

6. Interventions • Emergency relief programs • Subsidies on agricultural inputs • Use of cash • Seed voucher

7. Need to Improve Policy FANRPAN • Focus: • Improving policy research, analysis and formulation on key SADC priority themes • Developing human and institutional capacity for coordinated policy dialogue among all stakeholders • Improving policy decision making by enhancing the generation, exchange and use of policy-related information • Stakeholder categories: • Farmers, Government, Researchers, Private sector • Members/National nodes in 13 southern African countries: • Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

8. FANRPAN’s Strategic Plan (2007 – 15) Vision A food secure southern Africa free from hunger and poverty Mission To promote effective Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) policies by • facilitating linkages and partnerships between government and civil society, • building the capacity for policy analysis and policy dialogue in southern Africa, and • supporting demand-driven policy research and analysis

9. FANRPAN’s Thematic Thrusts Food Systems Agricultural Systems Natural Resources and Environment HIV and AIDS

10. Studies • Enhancing Food Security in Southern Africa: Lessons from Malawi’s Input Subsidy Programme (2008) • Input Voucher study In Swaziland (2008) • Input voucher study in Zambia (2008) • Input Voucher study in Mozambique (2008) • Input Voucher study in Lesotho (2008)

11. Objectives of the studies • To document experiences and assess the feasibility of using input vouchers to support smallholders to improve agricultural productivity • To establish, through consultative process the interest of stakeholders in Input voucher • To understand the input supply program in Malawi with respect to cost and benefits • To develop detailed plans and achieve commitment from stakeholder • To demonstrate the potential impact of integrating relief and commercial seed and fertilizer distributionchannel

12. Mozambique • Increased purchasing power for farmers that are aware of the benefits of the agricultural inputs (seed Voucher fairs) • Has allowed farmers to buy agricultural inputs of their choice • Revealed farmers’ preferences and allowed suppliers to respond to farmers’ demand (improving trade) • Assisted the emerging local input dealers to invest on their businesses.

13. Swaziland • Improved food security at household level • Increased participation of private sector leading to increased sales volume • Increased the operational base on input dealers and created employment

14. Lesotho • Ensured proper selection and registration of both beneficiaries and suppliers at the fairs. • Voucher verification before payment has minimized fraud

15. Zambia • Helped to open up new markets for private sector in remote areas • Increased volume of business • However it has been noted that if vouchers were used operation of the overall input market would be improved

16. Malawi • Malawi has broken from what has become a norm in the Southern Africa region, commitments that are not followed through. • Moved ahead with implementation of the commitments made both within • the CAADP Framework • Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration On Agriculture and Food Security in the SADC Region.

17. Continued • 2ndly, Malawi has proved that despite the many challenges facing smallholder African agriculture, • it is possible to increase smallholder crop productivity through existing technologies. • success in maize production shows that the situation facing the rural poor is not beyond the capability of governments to address. • National food self-sufficiency can be attained through the smallholder sector

18. Improving Agricultural Productivity and Nutrition of Poor Rural Political resolve can contribute to food security 1995-99 2000-05 2006-07 2007-08 Agriculture Share in Budget: 8.9% 6.13% 12.10% 14% The policy shift needed a financial commitment that has seen increase in agriculture budget to 14% of the national budget and 60% of it allocated to ISP. Malawi Maize production surpluses over the last five years: 2003/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 Surpluses (MT) (.2million) (.8million) .5million 1.3million .5million In recognition of the above achievement • Inaugural FANRPAN Annual Food Security Policy Leadership Award presented to His Excellency Dr.BinguwaMutharika President of Malawi, 2008 • FANRPAN Documented the Malawi Input Voucher Programme – “The Malawi Success Story”

19. Overall Outcome • Use of vouchers have potential to integrate commercial and non-commercial input distribution systems • Evidence on the increased and timely access to inputs • Evidence on Increased agricultural productivity • Increased purchasing power for farmers • Input voucher program is a market-smart form of subsidy • Increased sales volume for example in Malawi hybrid maize seed rose from 4,000mt to 6,700mt in 2006/07 • Increased fertilizer application from 17% in 2005 to 30% of the rural household in 2006

20. Overall outcome • Increased smallholder maize yield from less than 1.0mt/ha in 2005/06 to 2.03mt /ha in 2006/07 • Increased maize surplus from 0.5million mt to 1.3 million mt in 2005/06 and 06/07 • Between 2005 and 2006 the number of people below the poverty line in Malawi declined from 50% to 45%

21. Significant of Malawi Experience • Malawi experience demonstrates several points that are significant for the Southern Africa region. • That the right investments done in the right way under the right circumstances can produce the desired results; • Southern Africa is not doomed to remain in food deficit; • Policy makers can make a difference; • Hunger and dependence on food aid can be reduced; and • Support mechanisms for smallholder farmers can be integrated with market development • to address the dual goals of increasing agricultural productivity and developing agro-input markets.

22. Challenges • Accurate targeting of beneficiaries • Lack of monitoring of voucher beneficiaries to evaluate impact • Compromise on inputs quality • Late decisions leading to late delivery • Uncertainty with its continuity • Logistical • Political interference

23. Need to continue • Policy development is dynamic, exciting and challenging but also full of uncertainties. • Policy continues to be influenced by external and internal factors and also government agenda of the time and in most cases there is no holism

24. A Study of the Impact of ISP Fertilizer and Hybrid Seed On Livelihood in Malawi

25. Back ground • The Malawi government call • Evidence to support research in informing policy makers and other players in the agricultural inputs trade • The need, is to build credible evidence on the • impact of the ISP fertilizer and hybrid seed on people’s livelihood • This is critical if the ISP is to influence future food security policy decisions. 

26. Response • FANRPAN has commissioned a comprehensive study • to establish the impact of the ISP fertilizer and hybrid seed on people’s livelihood in Malawi. • to capture evidence and draw lessons to inform policy direction • to contribute towards achieving improved food security at national level • to inform policy development and direction • Identify farmers and track them for three consecutive years in order to tell a complete story

27. The Questionnaire • Distribution of the ISP fertilizer and hybrid seed • Establish criteria for selection of beneficiaries • Establish how many received and where (EPA, district, regional level distribution)? • Are they repeat recipients? Which years? • Establish how many did not receive when they qualified and why • Utilization of the ISP fertilizer and hybrid seed • What size of land was used for the ISP fertilizer and hybrid seed? • Which crops were applied with the fertilizer

28. It has also incorporated some questions from the HVI tool. • This is to address the challenges on targeting.

29. FANRPAN ACTION RESEARCH • To inform food security policy development and direction aimed to achieve improved management of ISP • Pilot and document the process of integrating the FANRPAN HVI and Input Vouchers in three countries (Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland) • Draw lessons to inform welfare support intervention practices and policies, and improve stakeholder knowledge on developing market-based instruments

30. Next • To come up with agreed calendar to undertake similar study in Zambia, Mozambique Feedback from Nodes------

31. Thank you