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Hand-in-Hand Initiative: Supporting Agricultural Transformation through Informed Agricultural Planning and Investment - TCP/MLW/3805

Year of publication 2025

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 9

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Project

Synopsis (short abstract) Malawi's economy heavily depends on agriculture, with over 80 percent of the population relying on smallholder farming. However, agricultural production and productivity remain below potential, failing to meet growing domestic and export demands. This shortfall is driven by factors such as environmental degradation, population pressure on arable land, limited access to modern farming technologies, low mechanization, poor infrastructure and the effects of climate variability. Additionally, limited access to up-to-date information and data hampers informed investment planning in the agricultural sector. To address these challenges, the government launched the Malawi 2063 Vision in January 2021, which focuses on three pillars: agricultural productivity and commercialization, industrialization and urbanization. A key aspect of this strategy is to identify areas with high agricultural potential to optimize investment outcomes, aligning with the goals of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Hand-in-Hand (HiH) Initiative. This initiative uses advanced data and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to support agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development, targeting poverty reduction, hunger eradication and the reduction of inequalities by leveraging evidence-based data for better-targeted investments. It utilizes sophisticated econometric modelling and geospatial data to assess the agricultural and economic potential of specific micro-regions.

Language English

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