Review of Macadamia Production in Malawi: Focusing on What, Where, How Much Is Produced and Major Constraints

Emmanuel Junior Zuza, Kadmiel Maseyk, Shonil Bhagwat, Andrew Emmott, Will Rawes and Yoseph Negusse Araya
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Emmanuel Junior Zuza: School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, The Open University, Gass Building, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
Kadmiel Maseyk: School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, The Open University, Gass Building, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
Shonil Bhagwat: School Social Sciences and Global Studies, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, The Open University, Gass Building, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
Andrew Emmott: The Neno Macadamia Trust, 42 Harpur Street, Bedford MK40 2QT, UK
Will Rawes: The Neno Macadamia Trust, 42 Harpur Street, Bedford MK40 2QT, UK
Yoseph Negusse Araya: School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, The Open University, Gass Building, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: Macadamia is an essential commodity crop in Malawi. The nuts are a lucrative commodity and are used for household consumption, income generation among farming families and as a foreign exchange earning crop at country-level. Macadamia production in Malawi has increased significantly in recent years. Malawi is the seventh top producer of macadamia nuts valued at £23.5 million, with a global market share of 3%. In 2018, the country was the fourth-largest exporter of macadamia nuts that were valued at £18.2 million. The majority (90%) of this crop was grown by large commercial estates with smallholder’s production only contributing about 10% of the total crop production. However, the smallholder sector is vital for the future growth of the macadamia sector in the country. Further, Malawian smallholders consider macadamia production as a low-input crop with large returns per unit area (£10.7 kg −1 ha −1 ), and it thus a lucrative commodity with high potential for poverty reduction and wealth creation among these farming families. This paper, therefore, explores: (i) the historical and current trends in macadamia nut production in Malawi; (ii) analyses the country’s macadamia value chain focusing on smallholder farmer contributions; and (iii) discusses the constraints of smallholder macadamia production in Malawi for informed policymaking. We conclude that the synthesis of the Malawian macadamia sub-sector provides an understanding of the vital contributions of macadamia to Malawi’s economic growth and improvement of livelihoods.

Keywords: macadamia nuts; lucrative; consumption; income generation; smallholder farmers; low-input crop; poverty reduction; wealth creation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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