Figure 1.-- These boys are harvesting individual tobavo leaves, we think on the family farm. Tobacco is an important money crop in Malawi. We are not sure how small quanyities of leaves or sold. Perhaps father is using the tobacco himself. . |
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Malawi is a basically agricultural country. Most Malawians make their living through subsistence farming. Important crops include peanuts, tobacco, tea, coffee, and cotton. There are rail links to Mozambique for exports. The economy is largely underdeveloped beyond basic agriculture. Malawi's single important natural resource is agricultural land. The land is, however, under severe pressure from steady population growth. Yield are, however, relatively low. The country's food supply is thus precarious. And the situation is aggrivated by periodic natural, both drought and torrential rainfalls. Thus there is the constant need for international food aid. The government's fertilizer subsidy program has suceesfully increased yields. And Malawi has for several years repoorted net food exports. A tangel of serious problems, including corruption, poverty and AIDs continue to impair development efforts. Under President Banda many state corporations were established. As elsewhere in Africa where socialist policies like state corporations were followed, the result was both coruption and economic stagnation. The state corporations were run inefficently and regularly generated sizeable losses. World financial bodies aiding Malawi have recommended that the state corporations be pivatized. President Mutharika instituted aseries of reforms (2005). One report suggests that Malawi has made some progress in achieving economic growth since 2007. Advances have been noted in healthcare, education, and environmental conditions. As a result, Malawi has needed less internbtional food aid then in previous years.
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