Malawi agricultural marketing board restructuring
Since the late 1980s, agricultural markets in Malawi have undergone several reforms. Prices for agricultural produce and inputs have been liberalized, as have agricultural marketing services, to allow for private-sector participation. The state's Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation was restructured; it sold of many of its assets and began closing some of its unprofitable markets. The reformers expected the private sector to step in once the state had withdrawn. It has not always done so, however, and the performance of ADMARC has continued to deteriorate despite the reforms. This has encouraged some to hasten the privatization of ADMARC itself, a process that would entail more market closures.
The PSIA examined the likely impact of such market closures on poor and vulnerable groups in Malawi. The main objectives of the study were:
- To learn from poor rural households and other stakeholders about the effects of closing ADMARC markets on their well-being and economic activity
- To explore people's reactions to the market closures, including their adjustment and coping strategies
- To extrapolate from the qualitative ex-post field research in order to draw draft policy implications for a socially responsible design, implementation arrangements and sequencing of the reform
The research team's final reports are available below, as is a two-phase Oxfam report carried out in-country. The country Summary Sheet is also available below. Other Summary Sheets are available on the main Country Experience page.
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