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Walls H, Johnston D, Matita M, Kamwanja T, Smith R, Nanama S. The politics of agricultural policy and nutrition: A case study of Malawi's Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP). PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 3:e0002410. [PMID: 37819904 PMCID: PMC10566744 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
The concept of food and nutrition policy has broadened from simply being an aspect of health policy, to policy interventions from across a wide range of sectors, but still with potentially important impact on nutritional outcomes. This wider and more complex conceptualisation involves policy with multiple objectives and stakeholder influences. Thus, it becomes particularly important to understand the dynamics of these policy processes, including policy design and implementation. To add to this literature, we apply the Kaleidoscope Model for understanding policy change in developing country contexts to the case-study of an agricultural input subsidy (AIS) programme in Malawi, the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), exploring the dynamics of the FISP policy process including nutritional impact. Over a three-month period between 2017 and 2019 we conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders at national and district levels, and focus groups with people from rural districts in Malawi. We also undertook a review of literature relating to the political economy of the FISP. We analysed the data thematically, as per the domains of the Kaleidoscope Model. The analysis across the FISP policy process including policy design and implementation highlights how stakeholders' ideas, interests and influence have shaped the evolution of FISP policy including constraints to policy improvement-and the nutritional impacts of this. This approach extends the literature on the tensions, contradictions and challenges in food and nutrition policy by examining the reasons that these occur in Malawi with the FISP. We also add to the political science and policy analysis literature on policy implementation, extending the concept of veto players to include those targeted by the policy. The findings are important for consideration by policymakers and other stakeholders seeking to address malnutrition in rural, food-insecure populations in Malawi and other low-income settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Walls
- Department of Global Heath and Development, Faculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Deborah Johnston
- Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mirriam Matita
- Department of Economics, University of Malawi, Zomba, Malawi
- Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - Tayamika Kamwanja
- Department of Economics, University of Malawi, Zomba, Malawi
- School of Business, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Smith
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Simeon Nanama
- United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Abuja, Nigeria
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Chandio AA, Akram W, Sargani GR, Twumasi MA, Ahmad F. Assessing the impacts of meteorological factors on soybean production in China: What role can agricultural subsidy play? ECOL INFORM 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2022.101778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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How effectively might agricultural input subsidies improve nutrition? A case study of Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP). Food Secur 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12571-022-01315-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Tione G, Gondwe E, Maonga BB, Machira K, Katengeza SP. Improving wasting among children under-5 years in Malawi: The role of farm input subsidies. Front Public Health 2022; 10:862461. [PMID: 36159232 PMCID: PMC9490429 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.862461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Wasting among children under-5 years remains a public health problem in Malawi, despite the quest to improve food availability through Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP). As such, the study examined the link between FISP and child wasting. Using Malawi Integrated Household Panel Surveys for 2013, 2016, and 2019, two-stage least squares approach was employed to run a Cobb Douglas production function and a correlated Random Effects (CRE) Model to account for endogeneity challenges and an unbalanced panel dataset. The study hypothesized the role of FISP to dietary diversity at the household level on child wasting [weight-for-height (WHZ)]. Based on the analysis, the study found that household access to FISP coupons was not a stand-alone predictor for low wasting among children under-5 years. However, increased maize production due to FISP coupon access significantly correlated with lower wasting likelihood incidences at the household level. Worth to note, that in 2015/16, households that had accessed FISP coupons and were in the central region had higher wasting probabilities among the children under-5 years in Malawi compared to other counterparts panels. This implies challenges to addressing wasting among children under-5 years- which can be attributed to higher redemption costs of the FISP coupon. Therefore, the current study suggests that input subsidies can improve the reduction of wasting among children under-5 years through specific pathways, among them, increased maize production and considering appropriate targeted approaches to ensure households access the inputs for sustained food availability, which in turn enhances improved the children under-5 years health dividends in Malawi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Tione
- Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi
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Options for reforming agricultural subsidies from health, climate, and economic perspectives. Nat Commun 2022; 13:82. [PMID: 35013212 PMCID: PMC8748512 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27645-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Agricultural subsidies are an important factor for influencing food production and therefore part of a food system that is seen as neither healthy nor sustainable. Here we analyse options for reforming agricultural subsidies in line with health and climate-change objectives on one side, and economic objectives on the other. Using an integrated modelling framework including economic, environmental, and health assessments, we find that on a global scale several reform options could lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in population health without reductions in economic welfare. Those include a repurposing of up to half of agricultural subsidies to support the production of foods with beneficial health and environmental characteristics, including fruits, vegetables, and other horticultural products, and combining such repurposing with a more equal distribution of subsidy payments globally. The findings suggest that reforming agricultural subsidy schemes based on health and climate-change objectives can be economically feasible and contribute to transitions towards healthy and sustainable food systems.
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Cross-national analysis of food security drivers: comparing results based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale and Global Food Security Index. Food Secur 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12571-021-01156-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe second UN Sustainable Development Goal establishes food security as a priority for governments, multilateral organizations, and NGOs. These institutions track national-level food security performance with an array of metrics and weigh intervention options considering the leverage of many possible drivers. We studied the relationships between several candidate drivers and two response variables based on prominent measures of national food security: the 2019 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) and the Food Insecurity Experience Scale’s (FIES) estimate of the percentage of a nation’s population experiencing food security or mild food insecurity (FI<mod). We compared the contributions of explanatory variables in regressions predicting both response variables, and we further tested the stability of our results to changes in explanatory variable selection and in the countries included in regression model training and testing. At the cross-national level, the quantity and quality of a nation’s agricultural land were not predictive of either food security metric. We found mixed evidence that per-capita cereal production, per-hectare cereal yield, an aggregate governance metric, logistics performance, and extent of paid employment work were predictive of national food security. Household spending as measured by per-capita final consumption expenditure (HFCE) was consistently the strongest driver among those studied, alone explaining a median of 92% and 70% of variation (based on out-of-sample R2) in GFSI and FI<mod, respectively. The relative strength of HFCE as a predictor was observed for both response variables and was independent of the countries used for model training, the transformations applied to the explanatory variables prior to model training, and the variable selection technique used to specify multivariate regressions. The results of this cross-national analysis reinforce previous research supportive of a causal mechanism where, in the absence of exceptional local factors, an increase in income drives increase in food security. However, the strength of this effect varies depending on the countries included in regression model fitting. We demonstrate that using multiple response metrics, repeated random sampling of input data, and iterative variable selection facilitates a convergence of evidence approach to analyzing food security drivers.
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Matita M, Chirwa EW, Johnston D, Mazalale J, Smith R, Walls H. Does household participation in food markets increase dietary diversity? Evidence from rural Malawi. GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Sharma IK, Di Prima S, Essink D, Broerse JEW. Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture: A Systematic Review of Impact Pathways to Nutrition Outcomes. Adv Nutr 2020; 12:251-275. [PMID: 32970116 PMCID: PMC7850060 DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmaa103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of agriculture in reducing undernutrition is widely recognized, yet there is also consensus on the need to make the sector nutrition-sensitive. Evidence on the impact pathways from nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) interventions, agricultural interventions with specific nutrition objectives, and actions detailing each temporal stage to reach nutrition outcomes is limited, however. We thus synthesized study results regarding impact of NSA interventions on nutrition outcomes relating to undernutrition, and constructed an impact pathway by mapping the evidence on each temporal stage from interventions to nutrition outcomes. We used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses to conduct and report our systematic review of studies on NSA interventions implemented in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Forty-three studies that met the inclusion criteria were extracted and synthesized across impact and pathways analyses. We carried out a thematic analysis of the effect of NSA interventions using evidence-based indicators and constructed the pathways by adopting a published framework on agriculture to nutrition pathways. Our findings reveal that NSA interventions can significantly improve dietary practices, and have the potential to enhance care practices and reduce occurrence of diseases, indicating their effectiveness in simultaneously addressing multiple determinants of undernutrition. However, NSA interventions have a lesser impact on nutritional status. NSA interventions lead to nutrition outcomes through 5 key pathways: food production, nutrition-related knowledge, agricultural income, women's empowerment, and strengthening of local institutions. We emphasize the need to carefully design, implement, and evaluate interventions with consideration for factors affecting impact pathways. Future research should focus on the effect of interventions combining multisector components, and pathways through non-food-production-related income, women's empowerment, strengthening of local institutions, food prices at intervention level, and expenditure on health care.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sabina Di Prima
- Athena Institute, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Dirk Essink
- Athena Institute, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jacqueline E W Broerse
- Athena Institute, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Does subsidizing fertilizer contribute to the diet quality of farm women? Evidence from rural Mali. Food Secur 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12571-020-01097-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Assessing Impacts of CAP Subsidies on Financial Performance of Enterprises in Slovak Republic. SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su12030948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Sustainability is a particularly crucial factor in policy formulation and analysis, including in the EU’s common agricultural policy. The common agricultural policy, through a subsidy policy, has caused a significant proportion of public funding to flow to agricultural subsidies, so it is appropriate to focus on the effect of these subsidies in the context of the sustainable development of EU agriculture. The impact of agricultural subsidies on business performance is of interest to policy makers. In agrarian practice, insufficient attention is paid to the legal form of agricultural performance, so our economic analysis focused on this area of research. The aim of the paper was to evaluate the effect of financial support in the form of subsidies resulting from the EU’s common agricultural policy and to verify its connection with the performance of agricultural enterprises in terms of the legal form in the context of sustainable development of the agricultural sector in Slovakia. No statistically significant linear correlation was found between farms’ performance results and the volume of subsidies per hectare of agricultural land for each legal form throughout the reporting period. In each analyzed year, business companies achieved a better overall assessment than agricultural cooperatives based on monitored parameters.
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