2. Food Security & Nutrition Experts1 FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY POLICY The Profile of Food and Nutrition Security

3. Food Security & Nutrition Experts2 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROFILE OF FOOD & NUTRITION SECURITY –Nutritional Status –National food balance –Production –Consumption –Stability –Cross-cutting issues

4. Food Security & Nutrition Experts3 Nutritional status Chronic and acute malnutrition Micronutrient malnutrition Mortality trends

5. Food Security & Nutrition Experts4 Chronic and acute malnutrition

6. Food Security & Nutrition Experts5 Prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (CED – BMI<18.5) 1992 MDHS (%) 2000 MDHS (%) National CED9.88.8 Regional CED North Centre South 7.2 7.3 12.4 7.5 7.7 9.9 Residential CED Urban Rural 7.1 10.1 5.5 9.4

7. Food Security & Nutrition Experts6 Micronutrient Malnutrition - 2001 GroupAnaemia (%) WHO classVAD (%) Preschool79.7 Severe59.2 School age22.3 Moderate38.3 Women27.0 Moderate57.4 Men17.4 Mild36.9 Only 36% of households consume adequately iodised salt ( 25 ppm)

8. Food Security & Nutrition Experts7 Mortality Trends Indicator 1986 -19901991 - 1995 1996 - 2000 NMR/100051.950.441.8 IMR/1000135.5122.7103.8 UMR/1000247.4219.7188.6 MMR/100,000N/a6201120

9. Food Security & Nutrition Experts8 National food balance 1961- 1995 food deficit in 19 out of 34 years 1995- 2003 food deficit in 5 out of 8 years In 2004, there is a high likelihood of food deficit in the southern region

10. Food Security & Nutrition Experts9 Domestic Production Food production index Maize production trend Estate and smallholder agriculture Agriculture as % of recurrent expenditure Constraints to agricultural production

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15. Food Security & Nutrition Experts14 Constraints to agriculture production Small landholdings < 0.5 ha Low soil fertility Dependence on rain fed agriculture Limited access to agriculture inputs Limited access to credit Labour shortages on own farm due to ganyu Declining land and labour productivity due to –Population pressure –HIV/AIDS –High input costs

16. Food Security & Nutrition Experts15 Constraints to agriculture production continued Maize pricing –1995/96 price band introduced –Price band abolished in 2001/02 –Government still controlling maize price currently at K10/kg Consequences Maize flows out due to the artificially low at MK10/kg No incentive for farmers to produce more maize than they need. No incentive for estates to grow maize Private traders cannot plan for imports

17. Food Security & Nutrition Experts16 Input/output marketing Output marketing liberalized; maize and tobacco exports controlled. Imports of raw agricultural products subject to duty-free entry. Malawi remains a net food importer Private sector participation in import and export trade in food is liberalized and active Export and Import bans effected.

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19. Food Security & Nutrition Experts18 Consumption Declining income levels Inequalities in consumption Dietary patterns

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21. Food Security & Nutrition Experts20 Inequalities in consumption 2/3 of population unable to meet the minimum energy requirements (i.e.,2200 Kilocalorie) 64% of population below poverty line 65% of rural population below poverty line The poorest 20% consume 6% of total national consumption The richest 10% consume 32%

22. Food Security & Nutrition Experts21 type of safety net programes recommended for Malawi Expanded Public works programmes Targeted inputs program Targeted nutrition programs Direct voucher transfer to disadvantaged groups Are these safety nets effective for enhancing food security Are they useful for development or how about during disasters??

23. Food Security & Nutrition Experts22 Challenges for implementation of safety nets identification of appropriate type of safety nets targeting of the safety nets to the vulnerable groups financial, human and institutional capacity to implement effective monitoring systems to ensure effective delivery phasing out strategy

24. Food Security & Nutrition Experts23 Dietary patterns General diet – BULKY with LOW meal frequency Infant and young child feeding practices (98% breastfeeding, 72% initiated within 1 hour BUT EBF only 63% (2000) up from 3% 1992. –Complementary food – plain porridge mostly cereal based (about 80%), BULKY with low frequency eg. <4 months 0.3 4-5 months 1.4 6-9 months 1.5 Source: MDHS, 2000

25. Food Security & Nutrition Experts24 Stability Disasters and emergencies Seasonality of food production Food and nutrition security information systems

26. Food Security & Nutrition Experts25 Occurrence and impact of disasters in Malawi Floods and drought, most frequent natural disasters in Malawi 1991/92 drought: National maize production fell by nearly 60% to 657,000 MT In 2001, floods occurred in 13 districts, contributed to about 32% drop in maize output 2002/2003-food crisis the government spent about US$80 million to import maize WFP has spent >US$250 million on food aid for Malawi in the past 25 years due to disasters

27. Food Security & Nutrition Experts26 Tools for disaster management Disaster Preparedness and Relief Act, 1991. Provisions of the act include establishment of: –Office of the Commissioner – capacity limited –National Disaster Preparedness and Relief Committee (NDPRC) –A disaster fund – not yet established/ not budgeted for –Disaster management plan – still in draft since 1997

28. Food Security & Nutrition Experts27 Tools for disaster management continued Strategic grain reserve (SGR) established in 1981 with capacity of 180,000 tones –objectives and uses of the SGR – not well defined –management and financing of the SGR & NFRA problematic –size of the SGR (physical stocks or financial resources) –High cost of maintaining physical stocks

29. Food Security & Nutrition Experts28 Current data/information domains relevant to FSN Agricultural statistics (crop production estimates, livestock census, input output market prices, food supply/demand) Health and nutrition information (nutrition indicators, health statistics) Demographic and health statistics Poverty statistics Population statistics Socio-economic information (trade statistics, exchange rates, inflation) Natural resources information (land, water, meteorology, environmental factors)

30. Food Security & Nutrition Experts29 Major challenges on FSNIS Unavailability of accurate timely and up-to- date data and information Non-existence of a well structured and coordinated food security and nutrition information system. Inadequate analytical capacity to provide accurate and timely information Inadequate access by most users (e.g. private sector and NGOs)

31. Food Security & Nutrition Experts30 Cross-cutting issues Gender imbalances Environment HIV/AIDS pandemic –National adult prevalence (15 – 49) = 14.4% –Urban = 23.0% –Rural = 12.4% –Number of infected children (0 – 14) : 70,000 –60,000 – 80,000 –No. infected adults over 50 years of age : 60,000 –Total HIV+ population :900,000