Malawi’s President Prioritises Food Security in State of the Nation Address
President Peter Mutharika centred his State of the Nation Address on food security, underscoring the issue’s political and economic urgency in a nation where over 80 percent of the population relies on rain-fed agriculture.
The President attributed a recent decline in maize prices—from approximately K100,000 to between K38,000 and K55,000 per 50kg bag—directly to government intervention. He detailed a multi-pronged strategy that included intensified maize imports, the restocking of ADMARC (Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation) markets nationwide, and the distribution of free maize to vulnerable households during the lean season. According to Mutharika, more than one million families received emergency food assistance, averting a potential humanitarian crisis.
Addressing the root causes of food insecurity, the President reported that fertilizer distribution had reached 65 percent of the targeted 1.1 million beneficiaries. He argued that improving access to agricultural inputs is critical to breaking decades of low productivity and dependency.
The address also covered Malawi’s key export, tobacco. Mutharika announced that government intervention sold 3.5 million kilograms of unsold leaf, generating US$8.6 million that would otherwise have been lost. He stated this action rescued thousands of farmers from financial ruin and helped stabilise foreign exchange earnings.
Looking ahead, Mutharika declared Malawi’s long-term objective is to become a net food exporter, supplying regional markets while building national reserves. He framed hunger not as an inevitable natural disaster but as a consequence of inadequate planning, stating, “no Malawian should die of hunger in a country with fertile land and hardworking farmers.”
The speech highlights the government’s focus on immediate relief and input support to stabilise the food system, while setting an ambitious goal for agricultural transformation in a country highly susceptible to climate-related shocks.
