The economics and politics of land reforms in Malawi: a case study of the Community Based Rural Land Development Programme | Land Portal

Informações sobre recurso

Date of publication: 
Janeiro 2008
Resource Language: 
ISBN / Resource ID: 
eldis:A41444

It is estimated that up to 84% of Malawians earn their livelihoods directly from agriculture - it contributes over 90% to export earnings, 40% to GDP and accounts for 85% of total employment. While the advent of democratisation in May 1994 provided a rare opportunity to address the chronic imbalances in the patterns of land ownership and distribution, the major development strategies that the government has since implemented have shied away from addressing the land question.The Community Based Rural Land Development Programme (CBRLDP) stands out as the most significant intervention that has been implemented in postcolonial Malawi to address the highly unequal land ownership patterns. This paper examines the impact of this programme for the successful implementation of future land reform initiatives.The study demonstrates that success in promoting pro-poor growth and development is not merely a matter of conjuring good institutions - their design and implementation critically depends on agents and agencies to implement them. Key policy implications include:

land reforms without a well-thought-out supportive infrastructure in the short to medium terms are unlikely to be sustainable. This is to say that land reform is more than just access to land: it must be accompanied by access to non-land assets; access to credit; access to extension services; and training of beneficiaries in modern farming techniques
the functioning of other markets such as transport, output, labour and financial are critical for households to maximise the benefits from access to land and improved tenure security. Reforms of this nature are therefore unlikely to generate substantial benefits in terms of investments, incomes and sustainable livelihoods without the accompanying financial assistance to farmers through access to other agricultural inputssuch as fertilisers and improved seeds
a gender-balanced selection of beneficiaries would enhance the positive impact of the CBRLDP. The participation of female headed households in the CBRLDP is limited yet the economic analysis reveals that male headed households invest less in hybrid maize production compared to femaleheaded households. The level of education of households is also important. The higher the level of education of the household the higher the uptake of modern technology such as hybrid maize and chemical fertiliser
the range of stakeholders involved matters in determining outcomes, successes and failures. Understanding the interface between formal and informal institutions in the context of the reforms is vital particularly in terms of anticipating and dealing with unexpected consequences.

Autores e editores

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s): 

E.W. Chirwa
B. Chinsinga

Publisher(s): 

The IPPG Programme is the shorthand name for the inter-disciplinary Research Programme Consortium on Improving Institutions for Pro-Poor Growth. The DFID-funded IPPG supports innovative scholarly research, and seeks to influence development policy and practice that contributes to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). IPPG supports innovative scholarly research, and seeks to influence development policy and practice that contributes to achievement of the MDGs. Our inspiration comes from:

Provedor de dados

eldis (ELDIS)

Eldis is an online information service providing free access to relevant, up-to-date and diverse research on international development issues. The database includes over 40,000 summaries and provides free links to full-text research and policy documents from over 8,000 publishers. Each document is selected by members of our editorial team.


Compartilhe esta página