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Non-PR, IFPRI1; CRP2; MaSSP; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; DCA, DSGD; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), Malawi has a long history of public intervention programs in the fertilizer market, going back to 1992. The latest iteration, the Affordable Inputs Program (AIP), was launched in 2020 and is now under considerable strain because of rapidly escalating fertilizer prices. Under the AIP, the Govern-ment of Malawi intends to supply around 428,000 tons of fertilizer (half of it NPK, half urea) to small-holder farmers at a subsidized price of MWK 4,995 per 50 kg bag. It was envisaged that the fertilizer would be imported and distributed by private suppliers and two parastatals, the Smallholder Farm-ers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) and the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC). However, the Government found the cost proposed by the private sector through the Fertilizer Association of Malawi (MWK 35,000 per bag) excessive, and is considering sourcing all AIP fertilizer exclusively through SFFRFM and ADMARC. The purpose of this note is to assess the situation and outline the best policy options available to the Government to ensure ade-quate fertilizer supply in the short time remaining before the onset of the agricultural season in Ma-lawi.

PR, IFPRI5; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; D Transforming Agriculture, WCAO

Presented at the Spring Seminar Series at the Global Forum on Urban and Regional Resilience, Blacksburg, VA, 2016-04-07. Presented at the AGRA side session of the12th CAADP Partnership Platform, Accra, Ghana, 2016-04-12.

Non-PR, IFPRI1, MSSD, The development of the maize seed industry and private seed companies in selected Sub-Saharan Africa countries over the past 95 years is outlined. The study provides evidence that seed industry development is an evolutionary learning-by-doing process of fitting together a set of interactive and mutually supporting institutions in a path dependent way that hold down transaction and production costs and infuse trading confidence in seed transactions. The government has a critical role to play in crafting and enforcing seed laws and regulations because it is ultimately the state that determines when standards are broken and whether penalties should be imposed on violators. Although the ultimate effects of structural adjustment programs on the seed industry in Southern Africa are unknown at this time, the programs have encourage multinational seed companies to enter the seed markets of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya and Tanzania. However, there are country-specific legal and regulatory hurdles that need to be overcome if structural adjustment programs are to achieve their full potential in improving the economic performance of the seed markets.