Malawi Agricultural Sector Risk Assessment

Giertz, Asa ; Caballero, Jorge ; Galperin, Diana ; Makoka, Donald ; Olson, Jonathan ; German, George

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: TROPICAL AGRICULTURE;    AGRICULTURAL POLICIES;    POULTRY;    PESTICIDE RESIDUE;    AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH;   

RP-ID  :  99941

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

With more than three-quarters of itsworkforce employed in agriculture, Malawi is highlyvulnerable to any adverse events affecting the agriculturesector, and agricultural risks are ever present in thecountry. Agricultural risks can obstruct development andenforce poverty traps, particularly for a country as relianton agriculture as Malawi. Because of the size of the sectorin the economy and the importance of agricultural productsfor export, agricultural growth correlates closely withgross domestic product (GDP) growth. Malawi’s effort tomanage risks and to provide relief in response to adverseevents diverts significant resources from longer-termdevelopment investments. To better understand the dynamicsof agricultural risks and identify appropriate responses,incorporate an agricultural risk perspective into decisionmaking, and build the capacity of local stakeholders in riskassessment and management, the agricultural risk managementteam (ARMT) of the agriculture and environment servicesdepartment of the World Bank conducted an agriculture sectorrisk assessment. The purpose of this report is to assessexisting agricultural risks, prioritize them according totheir frequency and impacts on the sector, and identifyareas of risk-management solutions that need deeperspecialized attention. Three levels of risks were assessed:production risks, market risks, and enabling environmentrisks to selected supply chains. The report takes aquantitative and qualitative approach to assessing risk.This report is structured as follows: chapter one givesintroduction and context. Chapter two provides an overviewof the agriculture sector and the selected crops. Chapterthree maps the production, market, and enabling environmentrisks to food crops and export crops. Chapter four looks atthe adverse impacts of agricultural risks in terms oflosses, both at the national level and for differentregions. Chapter five prioritizes the risks in terms oftheir frequency and the severity of their impacts, anddiscusses solutions based on this prioritization, ongoingrisk-management activities, and the feedback from theconsultative workshop.