Mkondiwa, M and Kabambe, V and Ngwira, A (2024) Good fences make good neighbors? Exploring potential transformative impacts of local governance towards livestock fence-in rights in Malawi. Outlook on Agriculture (TSI). pp. 1-7. ISSN 0030-7270
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Abstract
Malawi's export earnings are dominated by tobacco, accounting for over 60% of export earnings. The demand for an alternative export commodity, pigeon pea, has been rising over the past decade, especially from India. In addition to their export potential, pigeon pea is an effective cover crop to protect soil heath and productivity in the dry season. They are mostly grown in southern region on very small farms, however, there are opportunities for expansion into central region given the existence of larger farms and agroecological suitability for the crop. Currently, social norms in the central region constrain this expansion. Livestock, and goats in particular, are left to roam free in the dry season by over two-thirds of farmers, relative to only one-third in the south. This leads to significant damage to pigeon pea crops and discourages farmers from growing them and taking advantage of the increased export demand. Much land is left bare and the few farmers that do grow crops during the dry season are forced to put up fences. This study assesses ex-ante implications, especially on agroecological transformation and economic growth, of shifting local governance arrangements among farmers around keeping livestock towards controlled systems. These externalities have been understudied in the development programming, yet their impacts are substantial, especially in lower-income countries. The policy solution under study is for the local government and non-state actors to support local governance arrangements through indirect payments to agroecosystem services. These can include information campaigns on benefits of controlled livestock systems, training and subsidizing modern goat house construction and feed preservation, and contract farming and product certification for adhering to acceptable community norms. Medium-term policy interventions include varietal development of adaptable short duration pigeon pea, initiating a review of the appropriate laws, and instituting more studies to understand these community norms.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Research Program : East & Southern Africa |
| CRP: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Malawi, fence-in, mixed farming, local governance, social norms |
| Subjects: | Others > Malawi |
| Depositing User: | Mr Nagaraju T |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Jun 2024 04:20 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Jun 2024 04:20 |
| URI: | http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12694 |
| Official URL: | https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00307... |
| Projects: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Funders: | McKnight Foundation through the Agroecology Hub in Malawi, STEG Ideas for Transformation (I4T) |
| Acknowledgement: | Fieldwork, analyses, and writing of this study were funded by the McKnight Foundation through Malawi Agroecology Hub Project and by STEG’s Ideas for Transformation (I4T) grant. The first author was a recipient of the STEG I4T grant while he was affiliated with Center for Agricultural Research and Development, LUANAR. We thank Edward Sellers and Sarah Pogrund for comments that improved the paper. All errors are ours. |
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