Overview

General country information

Malawi is a land-linked country in Southern Africa, bordered by Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia to the north and northeast, the southern region, and the northeast, respectively. The country covers a total area of about 118,484 km2, of which about a 21% is Lake Malawi. The country has 9.4 million ha of land, most of which (75%) is held under customary tenure. The proportion of land used for agricultural purposes has stabilized at approximately 60% since 2010.

The country is divided into 31 rural development areas (DAOs). Each DAO has an agriculture development office (DADO), which has a principal animal health and livestock development officer (PAHLDO) responsible for managing livestock issues in the DAO. Each DAO has several extension planning areas (EPAs), which has at least one assistant veterinary officer (AVO), responsible for coordination of animal health and livestock development work in liaison with the PAHLDO. The AVO is the farmer’s primary subject-matter specialist on issues related to livestock.

In the previous population and housing census (in 2018), the country’s national population was at 17,563,749 (predicted to be 18,898,441in 2021). There are approximately 3,984,986 households, 45.5% of which keep at least one type of livestock. 33.3% of all household keep chickens, while 17.8% keep goats. Majority of people in Malawi (64.1%) are employed in the agricultural sector.

Malawi’s GDP, which has been growing at between 0 and 10% since 2002, was estimated at 9.502 billion Unites States Dollars (USD) in 2019 and was predicted at 9.578 billion USD in 2020. Agriculture contributed about 22.4% to the 2019 national GDP. The contribution of agriculture to the national GDP has been declining. Animal production contributed 29.5% to the agriculture GDP and 6.6% to the national GDP.

Animal production levels

Livestock are very essential for people’s livelihoods. In 2021, Malawi had about 5,977,705 tropical livestock units (TLUs), comprising 1,959,101 cattle; 11,104,382 goats; 373,715 sheep; 9,312,073 pigs; 216,342,218 chickens; 3,458,230 rabbits; 2,785,288 guinea fowls; 380,602 turkeys; 729,107 guinea pigs; 10,494,914 pigeons; and 3,719,461 ducks. These livestock were valued at about 956,432,828,480 USD. Estimated livestock products from the livestock (meat, milk, eggs, hides and skins) were valued at about 8,110,534,781 USD.
The primary layer of the livestock value chains in Malawi comprises farmers, veterinary service providers, feed manufactures and general input suppliers. The livestock value chains are characterized by having many smallholder farmers against few downstream players, leading to a situation where the farmers end up having very little control over prices of their products.

Animal and animal products consumption

Consumption levels of the major animal products (meat and milk) in Malawi were estimated to be 3.2 kg (about 3.1 litres) and 13.1 kg, respectively, based on FAO 2018 food balance sheets data. Poultry and pig meat remained the dominant meat sources in Malawi.

Malawi traded in livestock, livestock products, feeds and veterinary supplies with various partners up to around 226 million USD between 2011 and 2020. Major trading partners (by value of trade) included South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Zambia, Netherlands, Malaysia, Mozambique, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, New Zealand, Kenya and Belgium. Most of Malawi’s trade was in animal products.

Livestock production systems

In Malawi, livestock are raised in diverse production environments. Except for commercial farms, livestock are generally raised in mixed crop-livestock systems, which are characterized by more crop-livestock interactions. Approximately 2.2, 1.5, 3 and 60.2% of the national beef, dairy, pig and poultry populations, respectively, are produced in high-input production systems characterized by intensive management. Except for pigs (of which about 22.5% are in medium-input production systems) most of the other species are in low-input systems, characterized by free range feeding systems and little or no feed supplementation.

Animal feeds and feeding

The livestock sector in Malawi mostly depends on locally made feeds. The low-input livestock production sector mostly depends on grazing and free-range system of feeding, while the large-scale commercial sector depends on formulated feeds. Medium-input smallholder dairy farmers also use formulated feeds in which maize bran tends to be the dominant feed ingredient. There are several feed manufacturers making feed for their own farms and for other farmers, but smallholder farmers tend to find these feeds too expensive. With increasing population, increased use of land for crop production and climate change, livestock access to water is becoming a problem which needs an immediate solution.

Animal health

Major diseases reported in Malawi are African swine fever in pigs; anaplasmosis in cattle and goats; babesiosis in cattle; East Coast fever in cattle; epizootic ulcerative syndrome in fish; foot and mouth disease (FMD) in cattle; heartwater in cattle and goats; lumpy skin disease in cattle; mastitis in cattle; Newcastle disease in birds and trypanosomosis in cattle.  

The control measures for the major diseases include disease notification and general surveillance for the viral diseases and treatment and control of vectors for the tick-borne diseases. Malawi has a referral veterinary laboratory, the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) in Lilongwe, which has capacity for serological diagnosis of transboundary animal diseases (TADs), including FMD.

Human resources

Malawi has a wide range of human resources in veterinary, animal and allied sciences. DAHLD is the primary regulator of the livestock sector in Malawi. DAHLD has establishments (which are mostly filled with personnel) necessary to help it achieve its mission. There also exist research and training institutions, including Mikolongwe College of Veterinary Science (which is part of DAHLD) and Lilongwe University of Natural Resources (LUANAR). These institutions have the capacity to produce animal health and livestock development professionals with requisite skills to work in the livestock sector.

Livestock infrastructure

The livestock sector has a wide range of infrastructure designed to improve livestock health and production in the country. Major infrastructure managed by the government includes livestock centres, veterinary laboratories; dip tanks; livestock markets, spray races and holding grounds. Most farm structures on government farms are mostly functional (at worst in need of repair). Approximately 19% of farm machinery on government farms is non-functional and in need of repair. Most infrastructure not in direct DAHLD control (managed by PAHLDOs), especially dip tanks, is in dilapidated state.
DAHLD is a major player in the beef and smallholder dairy sectors. DAHLD produces Black Australorp day-old chicks at Mikolongwe (in Chiradzulu), Bwemba (in Lilongwe) and Choma (in Mzuzu). DAHLD is also a regular supplier of breeding stock such as dairy crosses and beef cattle to smallholder farmers. Key suppliers of inputs in the poultry industry include Central Poultry: Kamponji Enterprises; Amazon Poultry; Charles Stewart; Incubators Malawi; Ziweto Enterprises. Most of these input suppliers (except for DAHLD) supply many inputs beyond day-old chicks. Small and medium enterprise (SME) producers include Amazon, Keggs, Dhala, Nyaluwanga, Savannah, Thanzi and Malili. Most of the large-scale producers are vertically integrated, meaning that they participate in every step of the poultry value chain: they produce feed and day-old chicks, they raise broilers and layers, they process poultry meat and eggs, and they also market their products.

The role of livestock sector

The livestock sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of the agricultural sectors of many countries. It contributes approximately 40 percent of the value of agricultural production globally and in some Southern African countries. Livestock contribute to household income, food, and nutrition security. The many roles of livestock in Malawi can be summarized as: 1) enhancing food and nutrition security; 2) enhancement of human capital; 3) enhancement of social capital; 4) enhancement of natural capital; 5) enhancement of physical capital; 6) acting as moving banks; and 7) acting as buffers against externals shocks; and empowerment of women.

Government expenditure on livestock

Malawi’s expenditure on agriculture has been increasing steadily since the early 2000s. In 2020, this was estimated at 226 million USD, representing about 10.4% of the national budget, which is lower than in the previous 7 budgets. Malawi’s Agriculture Orientation Index (AOI) has been increasing with increasing share of agriculture in public expenditure, but is still below unity, which implies that government spending on agriculture represents a smaller share of total government spending than agriculture represents in the total economy. Livestock’s share in agriculture expenditure was about 1.2% in 2019. This is very minimal funding and is not adequate for the sector.

Livestock strategy, policy, regulation, and legislation

To ensure that the sector moves in the right direction and at an appropriate speed, the sector is driven by strategy and policy instruments at global, regional and national levels. In addition, the sector is regulated and has legislation that governs how the sector operates. Malawi’s livestock sector is supposed to respond to various strategy and policy initiatives and obligations, including the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the African Union Agenda 2063, the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA), the Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA), the Southern African Development Community Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (SADC/RISDP) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Treaty.

Internationally, Malawi’s livestock sector is supposed to work towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Livestock are very instrumental in the achievement of several SDGs, especially 1, 2 and 12 (no poverty; zero hunger and responsible consumption and production). The emphasis is on livestock enhancing the achievement of the SDGs.

Regionally, the Malawi livestock sector is supposed to fit into the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, which is Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future. The Livestock Development Strategy for Africa (LiDESA, 2015-2035) provides the strategies for achieving a 5-6% annual growth in the livestock sector.

Nationally, the Malawi 2063 (MW2063) is Malawi’s development framework for aligning the country’s development to the AU Agenda 2063. MW2063 has three pillars, including optimally productive and commercialized agriculture sector, in which livestock are an indispensable component. Livestock are also an essential sector for the realisation of the other two pillars on industrialisation and urbanisation. The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy III (MGDS III) (2017-2022). The third Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS III) is being implemented from 2017 to 2022. The MGDS III emphasizes the need to invest simultaneously in areas that can spur growth through the linkages they have with the other sectors of the economy. The strategy has key priority areas, including agriculture, water development and climate change management which contains livestock.

The National Agriculture Policy (NAP) provides clear and comprehensive policy guidance in the agriculture sector. The NAP’s vision is to ensure food and nutrition security in a more coordinated and diversified approach through the commercialisation of agriculture. Although the livestock sector is mentioned in most of the policy statements for the priority areas, they do not have specific policy statements (as is the case with other agriculture sub-sectors, such as irrigation).

The National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP) provides a framework for guiding investments in the agriculture sector to ensure coherence with overall and sectorial policy and investment frameworks.

The National Livestock Development Policy (2021-2026, not published yet) is expected to supersede the Policy Document on Livestock in Malawi of 2006, which expired in 2011. The policy will serve as an operational tool for the implementation of the national livestock development strategies. The policy’s emphasis on commercialisation fits in with the first pillar of MW2063, which is to achieve an optimally productive and commercialized agriculture sector.

The livestock industry in Malawi is regulated by the Executive arm of government via the Ministry of Agriculture through DAHLD. The vision of DAHLD is for Malawi to become a nation that is self-sufficient in safe locally produced livestock and livestock products. Its mission is to achieve a sustainable livestock development to improve nutritional well-being of Malawians and improved rural livelihoods while guaranteeing the safety of the public from consumption and utilisation of livestock products and by products. The department’s mandate is to promote sustainable livestock development and protect the public from zoonotic diseases through the delivery of animal production and veterinary services.

As the agency of the Government of Malawi responsible for regulating the livestock sector, DAHLD is guided by Acts of Parliament, most of them having their origin in the colonial era to regulate animal matters in Malawi. The current main Acts that regulate veterinary services and activities are: 1) the Control and Diseases of Animals Act; 2) the Meat and Meat Products Act; 3) the Milk and Milk Products Act; 4) the Protection of Animals Act; 5) the Hide and Skin Trade Act; and 6) the Veterinary and Para-veterinary Practitioners Act 2001.

The Malawi livestock sector has strategy and policy instruments that have the necessary provisions for its advancement if applied, implemented and enforced.

On-going projects and partners in the livestock sector

Government of Malawi as well as many other organisations are working towards improving the livestock industry in the country, together and individually. Government’s partners in animal health and livestock development include farmer organisations (FOs); civil society; veterinary statutory body; professional associations; and non-governmental organisations (NGO). The civil society has been instrumental in the development of the National Livestock Development Policy. The professional associations are helping rein in their members, hence promotion of professionalism. The farmer associations, together with the civil society have been very instrumental in lobbying for better policies for the welfare of farmers. The NGOs are reaching out to many rural farmers with practical livestock development interventions. This is complementary to government’s animal health and livestock development agenda.

Major on-going livestock projects in the country include the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA, 2019–2024), Sustainable Agriculture Production Programme (SAPP), Transforming Agriculture through Diversification and Entrepreneurship (TRADE, 2019–2026) and Agricultural Commercialisation (AGCOM, 2018-2023). CASA is on empowerment of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the poultry sector, SAPP is promoting small stock (goats and poultry) pass on programme, TRADE has a component for strengthening livestock value chains, while AGCOM supports commercialisation of livestock value chains.

Major constraints to the livestock sector

Major constraints to the livestock industry are at both the farmer and institutional level. At the farmer’s level, challenges include inadequate access to quality breeding stock, poor quality of feeds and pastures; ubiquitous livestock diseases; and low productivity of animals. At the institutional level, challenges include weak or non-existent market linkages, ineffective control of notifiable and trans-boundary disease and over-emphasis on other sectors of the agriculture apart from livestock, leading to limited investment in the livestock sector.

The prospects of the livestock sector

The livestock sector in Malawi, as in most developing economies, is growing, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Although the sector is currently riddled with many challenges, it does have the potential to grow and contribute more to the Malawi economy. The densities of livestock units (LU) (LU/ha) have been increasing for all the species. The percentages of the LU of different species (to total LU) have been increasing for goats and pigs and decreasing for cattle, sheep and chickens. This suggests that goats and pigs may be increasing in importance in the country.

In Malawi, the potential for economic growth is very high and the potential for increased consumption of animal products is also high. Higher demand for animal products means high potential for the growth of the livestock sector. This is an opportunity for the livestock sector actors to get organized and sustainably meet the demand. Moreover, there are many investment opportunities in the livestock sector, including in dairy, beef and pig production. Malawi has a large international and regional export market at its disposal because the country has trading arrangements encompassing regional and international partners. Malawi’s livestock products are also much sought after on the international market because livestock farming in Malawi is mostly organic.

Livestock are and will continue to be very important actors in the epidemiology of diseases in people. Zoonotic diseases remain an important danger to (human public) health. The ever-present danger of new infections from animals (and vice-versa) imply that improvement of animal health—and by extension, the livestock sector—is supposed to be an on-going and multi-sectoral process. This is another wake-up call for need for increased investment in the livestock sector.

The Malawi livestock sector has been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly via disruption of value chains. This disruption can be ameliorated by using digital solutions that connect farmers to fellow farmers and other players in the sector, in line with FAO’s recommendations for exploring and utilizing alternatives in interacting with stakeholders in the livestock development and animal health sector as a way of mitigating against the effects of the pandemic.