Agricultural extension and advisory service delivery in Malawi: historical background and a review of assessments

The paper is one of a series of research papers that are designed to timely disseminate research and policy analytical outputs generated by the USAID funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy (FSP) and its Associate Awards. The FSP project is managed by the Food Security Group of the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University (MSU), and implemented in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the University of Pretoria (UP). Together, the MSU-IFPRI-UP consortium works with governments, researchers and private sector stakeholders in Feed the Future focus countries in Africa and Asia to increase agricultural productivity, improve dietary diversity and build greater resilience to challenges like climate change that affect livelihoods. 

The paper introduces the 2000 national agriculture extension policy “Agriculture Extension in the New Millennium: Towards Pluralistic and Demand-Driven Services in Malawi” and Agricultural Extension Implementation Guide published in 2004, and reviews assessments on the policy implementation.