National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi Making the Connection: Value Chains For Transforming Smallholder Agriculture The Case of NASFAM & its influence on Value Chain Policy Making in Malawi November 6 - 9, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Presentation by: Alexander Chikapula 1

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi About NASFAM Functions Development functions -Capacity building of farmers -Provision of member community support for food security etc -Policy influencing Commercial functions -Marketing of smallholder crops -Facilitate member access to affordable farming inputs Governance structure 2

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi NASFAM Membership farms on less than 1 ha of land support an average family size of 6 people grow 60% cash crops, 40% food crops Members are both sexes Current membership over 100,000 3

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi 4

Smallholder farmers development challenges Limited access to credit and high interest rates Unaffordable prices for agricultural inputs Limited access to inputs, particularly certified quality seed Weak bargaining power and low product prices Lack of access to markets, market information Insufficient access to technology, equipment and knowledge Weak institutional linkages and extension structures Lack of voice to defend smallholder economic interests 5

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi NASFAM Policy Influencing Processes 6 Policy Influencing Issue identification Evidence building Packaging evidence Network building, advocacy target, dialogue Position papers, Press statement/ releases Commissioning research/ use of secondary data Farmer consultations, use of extension Network; AGMs; consultative meetings

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi The NASFAM Policy Platform Roadmap to NASFAM policy influencing Outlines policy issues, lobby targets and strategies, recommendations Has four thematic areas – Policy Pillars - Access to production inputs and financial services - Marketing Systems - Agricultural commercialization - Rural Infrastructure 7

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi Approach to Policy Influencing NASFAM values contact and dialogue as opposed to confrontational approaches It was observed that policy makers respect constructive criticism more than confrontation Dialogue enabled NASFAM recognition by public and private sectors as a constructive partner Media engagement 8

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi Case 1: Taxation on agricultural equipment Issue: reduced farmer incomes/ limited agric diversification/ market development Action: Developed position paper, dialogued with government; presentations at pre-budget meetings Outcome: removal of VAT on agric. equipment- allowed for import of Aflatoxin machines- int. markets 9

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi Case 2: Limited access to certified seed Impact: low productivity, poverty Action: ESFIM commissioned research provided evidence- - position paper on access to certified seed esp. legumes - recommendation for legume inclusion in FISP - SHF farmer engagement in seed multiplication 10

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi FO challenges in policy influencing Capacity to undertake research Weak linkages with research/academia institutions Human and financial resources Reactive nature of policy issues Uncoordinated networks- different voices Policy implementation monitoring 11

National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi Recommendations Defined FO constituency for credibility, Formal FO-Research- Academia linkages for continuous flow of evidence FO should influence research agenda Proactiveness Farmer capacity building Network building incl. media 12