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Malawi Records Food Surplus http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/27592 From shortages to surpluses: Malawi http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSL07890624 Back in the 1990s, the Malawi government gave the poorest farmers a package of fertilizer and seeds every year. The program was so popular that in 1999, they made it universal, for all farmers, and posted a large national surplus. But starting in 2000, the donor nations on whom this country depends for nearly half its budget forced the government to scale back and then finally to scrap the policy, saying it "distorted the market" and would prevent a sustainable agricultural base. The result? Smaller and smaller harvests and two years of famine. Some blame fell on poor rains, but it was also true that 75 percent of the population are subsistence farmers who could not afford either fertilizer or seeds. "We didn't advise the government to stop starter packs (of free seed and fertilizer). We said if you want to subsidize, it has to be targeted," World Bank country director Tim Gilbo said. "It doesn't make sense to subsidize those who can afford to buy. We didn't have a problem with it, our only advice was that it should be targeted." Eventually, the Malawi government took a stand, quite out of character in Africa where donor countries dictate domestic policy. "The president said (to civil servants) that he would never go begging for food for his people again," Kabambe recalled. Stuff the donor countries, they said, in essence: Bring back the subsidies. Hence the low-cost fertilizer. And a 370,000-ton surplus last year. And the record-smashing 1.2 million tons this year. Botswana - In the Economist: http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10925770 Botswana - the World Bank Reports: http://go.worldbank.org/8P9IVY6270 Botswana enjoys an international reputation of an African success story. A small landlocked country of US$1.8 million that was one of the poorest countries in Africa with a GDP per capita of about US$70 at independence from Britain in 1966 has witnessed unprecedented growth anchored in democratic governance and political and macroeconomic stability. For thirty years following independence, Botswana was the fastest growing economy in the world leaving behind the Southeast Asian tiger economies with its average annual growth rate of about 9%.

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Category: News
Uploaded: May 16th, 2008 @ 7:07 am
Author: Naniwa00

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