Download Mainstreaming Climate Change in CAADP processes in

MAINSTREAMING CLIMATE CHANGE IN CAADP POLICY
PROCESSES IN MALAWI
Civil Society Agriculture Network
Anamwino House
City Centre
P.O Box 203
Lilongwe
Malawi
Tel: +265 1 770 479
Fax: +265 1 770 492
Email: [email protected]
www.cisanetmw.org
August 2012
The work of producing this report was made possible with financial support from the European Union the International Food Security
Network projects. The views raised in this report do not necessarily reflect those of the donors
1
(i) Abstract
Agriculture in Malawi and the world over is faced with a lot of challenges. However, it has been
noted of late that one of the major causes of the current challenges that are affecting agriculture is
the change taking place in climate globally (IPCC, 2007; Bie et al, 2007). Agriculture in Malawi is
predominantly practiced in dry lands and is dependent on rainfall as opposed to irrigation. This has
made it to be very vulnerable to climate change. Currently, the notable effect that climate change has
brought, is the shrinkage of the rainy season where the decline has gone from seven months to about
four months (Saka and Phiri, 2008). This distinct mark of seasonal variability has also come along
with it, some weather extremes such as floods and drought that have increased both in frequency and
intensity and in recent years have devastated the agriculture productivity in Malawi (Devereux et al,
2008).
Over the past four years, nations of Africa have adopted the Comprehensive African Agriculture
Development Program (CAADP) as a harmonised policy document for the development of agriculture
ion the continent and Malawi is a signatory to the statues of this program. To domesticate the
CAADP, Malawi developed the Agriculture Sector wide Approach, which is a harmonised policy
document for the development of Agriculture in Malawi. However, in addition to this policy
document, the Malawi’s agricultural sector is currently being governed by about 23 policy
documents. These policies cover all areas related to agriculture. One striking feature observed in all
these policies documents about climate change is that they are either silent or do not say much on
climate change and how policy is going to tackle its effects in agriculture. Though the ASWAp which
is the most recent policy among the 23 has hinted on something on climate change but it is still
wanting on the emphasis and process of how to mainstream these into the subsequent programs of
this policy document. It has also been observed that most of these policies were written in the 80’s
and 90’s when the issues to do with climate change were not much of an issues in the development
discourse locally and internationally. However, as the shift is taking place towards the management
of climate change in development, policies especially those in agriculture need also to respond by
being redrafted to be inline with the current state of affairs.
This paper explores the current trends in Malawi as far as climate policy in agriculture is concerned.
It will look at; who are the current players/actors and networks; what are their narratives and how
are they framing the climate change problem in terms of increasing vulnerability of the agricultural
systems due to variations in seasonality and disasters and what answers are they suggesting? What
are the politics involved in all these (Between the civil society, donors and government). What spaces
of policy engagement are available and what spaces are opening up? What role is research playing in
informing the debate on climate change adaptation in Malawi in general and agriculture in particular
and what is the role of the media and what has the media done so far? Of late the government of
Malawi has put in place several social protection measures like the agricultural Input subsidies, what
is their role in averting climate disasters and what is the position of the actors on this? This paper has
also reviewed some policies in agriculture and environment that talks about climate change and
explore the gaps in these policies and also made recommendations on how they can be redesigned to
respond to climate change and seasonal variability.
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(ii) Contents list
(i) Abstract
2
(ii) Contents list 3
(iii) Acronyms list 4
Introduction.
5
2.0 Literature Review
6
3.0 Methodology 7
3.1 Desk Reviews 7
3.4 Conceptual framework 8
4.2.0 Actors, Networks and their narrative on the climate change question
9
4.2.1 Preamble
9
4.2.2 The Government
9
4.2.3 The Civil Society
9
4.2.4 Media
11
4.2.5 Private Sector Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2.6 The Donors Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2.7 The Academia/Research
Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.3 Politics of Policy and Spaces for Engagement 12
4.4.0
A quick overview of some of the Agricultural and Environmental policies in relation to climate change
4.4.1 Preamble
14
4.4.2 National Irrigation Policy and Development Strategy 15
4.4.3 National Environmental Policy and Action Plan
15
4.4.4 The Malawi National Strategy for Sustainable Development
16
4.4.5 The National Water Policy
16
4.4.6 National Biodiversity Policy and Action Plan
16
4.4.7 National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA)
17
5.0 Conclusion and Policy recommendations
17
5.2 Strengthen the Role the Non-state Actors
18
6.0 References
19
14
3
(iii) Acronyms list
ADP
CAADP
CARD
CEPA
CISANET
CRS
CSR
CURE
GDP
IRLAD
MEET
MEGS
MGDS
MNSSD
MPRSP
MRFC
MVAC
NAPA
NASFAM
NBSAP
NEAP
NEP
NEPAD
NORAD
OIBM
SWAP
UNDP
WSSD
Agricultural Development Programme
Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme
Churches Action for Relief and Development
Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy
Civil Society Agriculture Network
Catholic Relief Services
Centre for Social Research
Coordination Unit for the Rehabilitation of the Environment
Gross Domestic Product
Irrigation, Rural Livelihoods and Agricultural Development Programme
Malawi Environmental Endowment Trust
Malawi Economic Growth Strategy
Malawi Growth and Development Strategy
Malawi National Strategy for Sustainable Development
Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
Malawi Rural Finance Company
Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee
National Adaptation Plan of Action
National Association of Smallholder Farmers in Malawi
National Biodiversity Policy and Action Plan
National Environmental Action Plan
National Environmental Policy
New Economic Partnership for African Development
Norwegian Agency for International Development
Opportunity International Bank of Malawi
Sector Wide Approach
United Nations Development Programme
World Summit on Sustainable Development
4
Introduction.
Climate change has become an important phenomenon that is affecting development worldwide.
Among the sectors that have become most affected by climate change is that of agriculture. This
paper will therefore explore some of the recent developments and debates taking place in Malawi in
as far as climate change policy in agriculture is concerned and how climate change issues are finding
their way into agricultural policy process, especially the ASWAp. Since the late 70’s and the early
80’s it became apparent that the earth is undergoing a significant shift in climate. According to IPCC
(2007), it has now been generally accepted that this climate change is indeed taking place, and is to
a greater extent as a result of human activities. Most climate change models predict that global
temperatures will rise by about 1-30C by the year 2100 in response to a rise in carbon dioxide
concentration levels. According to the same report, this projected change is larger than any other
climate change over the last 10,000 years and is likely to have significant impact on global
environment, such as a rise in sea levels, flooding, and droughts; with negative impact on food
security, and undesirable consequences on physical infrastructures, economic activities, human
settlements and health. These changes are likely to have a significant impact on food production and
sustainable livelihoods of smallholder households, around the developing world.
However, the IPCC report further indicates that although the general effects of climate change may
be known, it is not easy to predict them accurately in most local context. Such unpredictability has
brought a lot of uncertainty to countries that are heavily dependent on agriculture like Malawi. Most
of these countries have seen a rise in climate variabilities such as the increasing intensity of rain
within a short period of time which has resulted in floods that have destroyed the crops and other
sources of livelihoods. In Malawi, there have also been incidences of drought that have resulted in
crop failure in most parts of the central and southern regions of the country (Bei et al, 2007; Saka
and Phiri, 2008). The current changes in weather patterns in Malawi as observed by the Malawi
Meteorological Service and noted by all farmers (Action Aid, 2006) include higher temperatures,
delayed and shorter rainy seasons and increased intensity of rainfall. However it is difficult to say
with certainty that these observed changes in patterns of weather reflect the trends in possible
longer-term climate variability’s and their effects on Malawi’s agriculture.
Agriculture is a very important sector in Malawi as it provides about 40% of the GDP, 90% of all
export earnings and it employs directly and indirectly about 80% of the entire workforce. Agriculture
also account for about 60% of all rural income. Having such a core function to play in the economy, it
is imperative that agricultural policies should address the issues and the challenges that are coming
as a result of climate change as a priority. As pointed out earlier, the agricultural sector in Malawi is
governed by about 23 policy documents covering different subsectors which include among others;
crops, livestock, research and extension. However most of these policies are virtually silent on
climate change. This could be attributed to the fact that most of these policies were written in the
80’s and 90’s when climate change was not an issue in agriculture to seriously think about and
address through a national policy. However, in 1997 the Government of Malawi in response to he
dictates of the CAADP embarked on a process to develop the Agricultural Sector wide Approach
(ASWAP). This is a harmonised policy document that will provide a basis for planning and also as a
reference document for all agricultural programs for all sector players in Malawi. On issues of
climate and agriculture in Malawi, there have been several efforts that have been carried out by the
donor community, the civil society and the NGOs in spearheading the incorporation of climate
change issues in the national policy and programmes. In general Malawi has three major overarching
policy documents which provide a framework for all sectoral policies in agriculture. These policy
documents are the Vision 2020, the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS ll) and the
ASWAp.
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In this paper, chapter one explores why is climate change a concern to agriculture in Malawi, which
may also be the case in most southern African countries. It will provide some background to
agricultural growth in Malawi and how the issue of climate change is slowly taking centre stage in
the policy debates taking place. It will highlight on how policy issues, on the interaction between
environment and agriculture has evolved over time. Chapter two will provide the conceptual
framework under which the research was conducted. This framework borrows some ideas from the
concept used in Keeley and Scoones (2003) in analysing the relationship between policy narratives,
actors and networks and also politics involved in the policy arena. Chapter three explores the actors
and networks currently operating in Malawi’s agricultural sector. It looks at what are their
narratives on climate change problem? and how do they frame the climate change problem
surrounding agricultural production? Chapter four explores the politics and constraints/limitations
relating to policy change according to the identified actors and what are their suggestions. It will also
look as to what are the spaces currently opening up for policy engagement? What are the limitations
for engagement? Chapter five provides some analysis of the policies in agriculture and environment
concerning climate change and look at what are the issues being raised in these policies and how are
these addressing the gaps in the ASWAp.
2.0 Literature Review
Several studies are being carried out worldwide to analyse and understand the effects of climate
change on agriculture. It is interesting to note that some of these studies have indicated that climate
change will affect agriculture both negatively and positively in the short to medium term. Devereux
and Edwards (2004) and Parry et al (1999) indicated that the temperate regions of the northern
hemisphere and the tropical and sub-tropical regions, which are mainly in the southern half of the
world, will be affected differently. The temperate region, especially the north America and parts of
Europe and a large part of the Russian federation will experience an increase in agricultural land, the
land that is currently too cold to be used for agriculture. Additionally, there will also be an increase
in crop productivity due to the increased amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere through the
process of CO2 Fertilisation which will enhance the amount of photosynthesis taking place in plants
(Devereux and Edwards, 2004; Slater et al, 2007). However, other literature have challenged the CO2
fertilisation concept as being difficult to measure in practice unless subjected to agronomic
experiments. It is also difficult to isolate the effects of Carbon Dioxide over time against a
background of other agricultural technological developments that may also enhance productivity,
taking also into consideration that atmospheric Carbon Dioxide will be evenly distributed in the
world atmosphere. (Mendelson, 2000).
Climate change has not only affected crops but also other classes of agriculture like livestock and
aquaculture which ASWAp is also promoting as a way of diversifying agricultural productivity in
Malawi. The productivity of livestock is being affected directly as well as indirectly by changes in
climate. It has also been reported that domestic livestock, like other animals, have a certain climate
threshold below which they perform optimally. Beyond this thermal optimum, meat and milk
production declines. Worst still, it has also been noted that there is limited potential for extending
this limit through breeding. When the temperature limits are reached, cattle stop eating, movement
such as walking to pasture and water are hindered, breeding is interrupted, and milk production
drops (Field, 2005; Notenbaert et al, 2006: Rowlinson et al, 2008). The heat-induced loss of appetite
can also delay the time an animal takes to reach market weight by a year or more (Notenbaert et al,
2006). The indirect effects of climate change on livestock may be those associated with food and
pasture production. There is some correlation between reduction in the number of livestock and
rainfall, mostly the direct link has been through grass production. Low subsistence agricultural
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output has also translated in the reduction in numbers of animals that directly compete with
humans for food such as pigs (Dandaula, 2008).
It is also important to note that the effects of climate change on agriculture is not only the changes
in seasons, average temperature and rainfall but also the changes in the frequency, severity and
recently the spatial distribution of extreme weather events that have been costly to agriculture.
Climate change has led to weather variability’s and extremes like droughts which have mostly been
as a result of La Nina as was the case during the 2000/2001 drought that affected most of the
southern Africa region and floods which have mostly been as a result of El Nino, one example in
point was the floods that affected the Zambezi basin during the 2000 and 2007 rainy season in
central Mozambique (UNDP, 2007). However, it is argued in some literature that global warming is not
a new phenomenon, it is not a thing of the future but rather a thing of the past, as a matter of fact
Africa is much warmer today than it was some hundred years ago and the rate of warming has been
about 0.5 degrees per century (Hulme et al. 2001). Farmers and African agriculture have been
adapting to these changes in climate and seasonality using indigenous farming methods such as
shifting cultivation and intercropping among others over a long period of time (Richards, 1985).
However, the major challenge now is the destructive frequency and severity that is being associated
with droughts and floods that are coming due to largely as a result of climate change
On the overall climate change is going to affect most of the efforts being carried out in poverty
reduction because most of the poor people are directly involved in agriculture (Slater et al, 2007).
However, projections are showing that the gross grain production in the world may not be affected
much by climate change at least by 2080. This is because in as much as most of the southern
countries will lose their agricultural land, there will be much gains in the temperate regions thereby
balancing out the losses in the south (Devereux and Edwards, 2004). However, this will mean an
increase in rural poverty levels in most of the southern communities whose livelihood is directly
linked to agriculture. This agriculture-climate change-livelihood linkage has made Agriculture to be
central for modelling the impacts of climate change on poverty. A study carried out by Davies et al
(2009) that linked climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and social protection in
agriculture demonstrated much more on this linkage. It indicated the importance of agriculture in
ending rural poverty and how a greater understanding of this linkage in the agriculture sector can
help in coming up with policies that help alleviate poverty.
3.0 Methodology
3.1 Desk Reviews
The study reviewed a number of document including Government policies on agriculture and
environment and other online documents. However the main document of reference was the
ASWAp
Key Informant interviews
The study involved interviews with some key informants and that included, Dr Tennyson Nzengeza,
the Officer in Charge of Lifuwu Research Station, The Mr. Phewa, Deputy Program Manager for
Salima Agriculture Development Division. It also included interviews with NGOs, and Famer
organisation.
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3.4 Conceptual framework
The study analysed the agriculture policy environment in Malawi in the wake of climate change by
using the concept, developed and applied in Keeley and Scoones (2003) which analyses the
interaction between the policy discourse, in this case the ASWAp and narratives of the actors and
networks working within a particular political environment with varying interest from the actors. As
you may observe in the subsequent chapters, there have been different perspectives on climate
change in agriculture and how it can be fully mainstreamed into ASWAp and other policies. There is
a general view within the Ministry of Agriculture that climate change has brought in nothing new
that warrants a radical policy change but the same old phenomena like floods and drought.
However, there is a process that have been initiated within the newly established Ministry of
Climate Change and Environmental Affairs with support from UNDP to develop a National Climate
Change Policy framework that will guide the mainstreaming of climate change into policies but also
be used as a tool for awareness on climate change. Currently the different actors are still seen to be
in the process of developing their narratives and positions on climate change and agriculture and
there is an increased knowledge and understanding of climate change and its effects on peoles
livelihoods in general and agriculture in particular. However it has been observed that the current
dominant narratives among the actors are coming from the civil society and the government with
the other actors like the media and the private sector being on the peripheral.
This paper has made an attempt to look at the policy narratives involved in each of these actors and
how they framing the problem of climate change. Policy narratives can be understood as stories
about policy change. They normally describe the beginning, the middle and the end of the story and
also describe the events that help in shaping policy. They provide a worldview of a particular actor or
a network about a certain issues.. In all the debates taking place the most important thing to note is
that the Malawi policy environment is conducive for the alternative policy narratives to strive and
cross-fertilise each other in the search for a possible solution. The paper has also to explored the
actors and networks that are currently operating in the climate change policy arena. These are
individuals or groups of individuals that have a shared vision and have similar belief systems and
established patterns of behaviour (Gaventa, 2007). Through these networks, narratives are
developed, spread and maintained using various means like conferences, list serves among others. In
the Malawian context there are several actors and networks that have sprung up as the subsequent
chapters will highlight, these have helped in creating a wider space for policy engagement.
In addition to these, the politics and other interests from those actors have also been explored.
Though much politics have not yet sprung out, as the debates are still in their infant stage. However,
the donors who are mostly playing behind the scene have made a bigger influence on the debate.
The newly established Ministry that will specifically look at climate change, will help in bring some
form of harmony and coordination on climate change to be centrally done. It is however yet to be
seen whether the increasing demand for resource control and budgetary allocations to climate
change among Government ministries and Departments and also other sector players issues will
lead to real politics in the climate change policy processes.
Finally, through this concept, the paper has also explored the spaces opening up for policy debates.
A policy space can be understood as a limit and boundaries or forum for interface and conduit for
negotiations between the state and the society (Cornwall and Coelho, 2007). They are the moments
and opportunities where citizens and the policy makers come together to explore a particular issue
for a common solution. Spaces can be divided into three broad categories, which are closed spaces,
invited spaces and created or claimed space (Gaventa, 2007). Most of these kinds of spaces are
manifesting themselves in the Malawi climate change policy arena.
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4.2.0 Actors, Networks and their Narrative on the Climate Change question
4.2.1 Preamble
The actors in the Malawi agricultural policy landscape, especially on the climate change question
have been divided in this write up into six categories and these include: The Government, the
donors, the private sector, the civil society including the farmers, the Academia (Research) and the
Media. The first four actors listed were the signatories of the CAADP compact and are also part of
the of the current implementation framework of ASWAp in Malawi. As the debate on the climate
policy is unfolding, each of these actors is also developing its own narratives and framings based on
their experiences and how much they have been exposed to the problem of climate change as it
relates to agriculture and food security. However, out of these seven, the major actors ‘on stage’ are
the Government, Farmers and the Civil Society while the major actors ‘off stage’ are the donors and
the academia. The private sector has a remote role that it is playing at the moment, while the media
has taken a reactive position to issues that are coming up.
4.2.2 The Government
Climate change has affected the activities of almost all the ministries in Government. However the
ministries that have been directly affected include the ministries of Agriculture, Climate Change and
Environmental Affairs, Energy and Mining, Education and the Ministry of Health. All these ministries
have perceived the problem of climate change differently according to how their sector has been
affected but in this paper the focus has been on the narratives from the ministry of agriculture and
the agriculture sector.
It has been generally accepted within the Ministry of Agriculture in Malawi, as is the case with the
rest of the actors that climate change is affecting agriculture. The 2007/2008 UN Human
Development report has shown that global warming is projected to increase by 2-3 degrees Celsius
by the year 2100 with a decline in rainfall and reduced water availability (UNDP, 2007:93). The
Government through the ASWAp has realised the existence and the extent of these challenges. This
has been evident in the development of the Land and Water management and also the Food
Security and Risk Management pillars within ASWAp which have been tailor made to respond to
some of the issues coming as a result of climate change. Though ASWAp has generally been accused
of not been climate smart, as it still not clear on issues like reduction of agricultural emissions, which
are among the top sources of greenhouse gases, through its provisions on use of diesel powered
irrigation pumps and do not give a proper strategy of conservation agriculture and other
conventional climate smart techniques. However the point of departure from this argument is that
the ASWAP has realised the effects of climate change like floods, drought, animal and crop pest and
diseases infestation on agriculture though these are not new issues and have been addressed in
one way or another through the policies. However, their current extent and the magnitude as a
result of climate change have necessitated a policy response, which we have seen in ASWAp.
For the agriculture sector in Malawi, it is the changes in rainfall regimes that will be a dominant climate
factor affecting agricultural production. The changes in rainfall patterns will have great consequences
on: soil surface run-off, soil erosion, soil-water availability, floods, droughts, groundwater recharge and
storage, water quality, water demands for irrigation, crop and domestic uses, and a whole range of
other environmental and economic activities (Dandaula, 2008, Banda and Ng’ambi, 2007). Having
noted that these challenges that are to a greater extent reversing the progress that has been made
in combating the problem of perennial hunger in Malawi, the Government has initiated the
Greenbelt Initiative that will utilise all perennial water sources for irrigation.
9
4.2.3 The Civil Society
The civil society, who in this case constitute the NGOs, Faith-based Organisation, Community Based
Organisations, farmer organisations and interested individuals working in the agricultural sector,
have mainly pointed out to the need to have a policy framework that will provide some guidelines
for mainstreaming climate change in all agricultural policies. Though the civil society agrees with the
Government on the fact that climate change effects are generally not new but the main concern
now is the frequency and the severity at which they are taking place and how destructive and costly
they have become to agriculture in recent years of which the Government is also agreeing to. It has
also been observed that the spatial distribution of these effects has increased with areas that never
used to have drought or floods and in some cases diseases like malaria are now experiencing them.
This alone is a cause for concern that needs some policy consideration. Most civil society
organisations have highlighted on the fact that the challenges that are being faced in the policy
arena such as harmonisation of the work across ministries and also the overlaps and duplication of
efforts being done, could be lessened if the Government could provide clear guidelines on how to
mainstream climate change activities into development programmes. We believe that with the
coming of the Ministry responsible for Climate Change will coordination challenges will be lessened.
This is also coupled with the process currently taking place to develop a comprehensive climate
change policy for Malawi.
In order to enhance its ability to advocate for policy change and policy inclusion of climate change
issues, the civil society has responded by forming a coalition on climate change called Civil Society
Network on Climate Change, that is made up of NGO’s, networks and farmer organisations
interested in climate change and it is being led by CEPA. The main aim of this coalition is to develop
communities that are resilient to impacts of climate change by among others, proving them space in
policy debates. Some of the initiative will includes reducing vulnerability to climate change, disaster
risk reduction, adaptation and mainstreaming climate change in government policies, plans and
strategies. It aims at achieving this through research and policy analysis, lobbying and advocacy,
capacity building and information sharing. The existing networks also like the Civil Society
Agriculture Network (CISANET) have modified their structures to incorporate issues of climate
change by coming up with thematic groups that will deal directly with climate change and disaster
management and policy advocacy. CISANET is a signatory of the CAADP compact and is also present
in all the Technical committees of ASWAp and an important player in as far as its implementation is
concerned.
In addition to direct policy advocacy, the civil society is also engaged in other social protection and
climate related disaster risk reduction initiatives, which are an important part of the ASWAp
Framework . The National Association for Smallholder Farmers in Malawi (NASFAM), which is part of
CISANET, is the largest grouping of smallholder farmers in Malawi. NASFAM has also initiated the
weather indexed crop insurance programme1 which is being implemented in conjunction with the
Insurance Association of Malawi and the Opportunity Bank. Through this initiative farmers are
cushioned against the impact of a drought or other climate related disasters that may disrupt their
1
http://www.microinsurancecentre.org/UploadDocuments/Malawi%20Index%20linked%20crop%20insurance%
20project1.pdf
10
agricultural production. This insurance enables them to assess loans from the bank to buy improved
seed. Other NGOs like World Vision International, Action Aid International, Concern Worldwide and
Catholic Relief Services have also responded to climate change through various programmes on food
security and disaster management in line with the some of the provisions in the ASWAp.
4.2.4 Media
In most cases the media as the outlet for information do not have a particular position or specific
narratives on general issues like climate change. One journalist from the private Zodiak Radio who
was interviewed2 as part of this write up said that public and private media stations are usually
influenced in their reporting by their political inclinations. Though all of them claim to be neutral, it
is still the political forces that determine the emphasis that is put on news items, mostly the
emphasis on the news item is based on the narratives of the dominant political players to which the
news outlet is sympathetic of. However in the print media, though the trend may be the same but it
is a bit different as the print media goes for news that will make their papers or magazines sell. In all
these situations, stories on climate change have not taken a centre stage both as a political issues or
something that will make newspapers sell. In other words there is no political crisis due to climate
change worth taking about as a news headline.
However, some NGOs that are interested in climate change issues like CEPA, Total Land Care and
FAIR have been sponsoring radio programs that talks of climate issues and campaigns on sustainable
agriculture. They have brought into discussion on these issues officials from the Government and
civil society, however the viewpoints raised in these forums does not reflect what the radio stations
stands for. This also goes for the TV stations and other public and private radio stations. However
the media has been included as an important actor due to the influence that they have on policy
change.
4.1.4 Private sector
The private sector involvement in climate change issues has been very remote. Of late, one notable
involvement has been through the weather indexed crop insurance programme that is being
spearheaded by National Association of Smallholder Farmers in Malawi (NASFAM). This programme has
brought together members from the private sector like the Opportunity International Bank of Malawi
(OIBM), Malawi Rural Finance Company (MRFC), Monsanto and the Insurance Association of Malawi
(IAM) who have signed a memorandum of understanding with NASFAM. Agriculture is a risky business
and most farmers have no collateral to cover their loans, most banks were not willing to give out loans
to farmers. However, this programme is providing some security to farmers against the effects of
climate change like drought and floods. OIBM and MRFC have agreed to provide loans to the farmers
provided they buy an insurance policy with IAM and their seed (mostly groundnut) from Monsanto and
sell their harvest to NASFAM which gives then an above market price. The success of this programme
has made Government to look at the possibility of extending it to other crops like maize and rice.
Climate change has opened up business opportunities for some. Other members of the private sector
that are doing something about climate change include companies like Electricty Supply Commission
of Malawi and the Water Boards which are undertaking several climate change adaptation activities
with the local communities to safeguard hydro electricity generation capacity and water supplies
respectively. Others are into research on alternative fuels like biodiesel from Jatropha and ethanol
powered vehicles (Jumbe et al., 2009). All these organizations have seen the link between their work
and the climate change and how it is positively or negatively affecting them.
2
Interviewed, Mr. Owen Lupeska of Zodiak Radio station
11
4.1.5 The donors
The donor community has been the powerful ‘off stage’ driving force in the policy debates taking place
in Malawi on climate change. The visible pressure on government to make agricultural policy responsive
to climate change has mainly been provided by the civil society networks and NGOs with the notable
ones being Oxfam, CADECOM and Action Aid. However, behind the scene have been organisations like
NORAD, Trocaire, Christian Aid, DFID, Irish Aid, World Bank and the EU providing the financial support to
these organisations to put through policy reforms.
The EU has been involved for sometime in the Malawi agriculture policy arena through the Food
Security Joint Taskforce in the Ministry of Agriculture that was set up after the 2000/2001 food crisis to
coordinate the efforts aimed at providing some structural reforms that were absent in the pre-crisis
period and among them was the drafting of the national food security policy. Though climate change
has not yet taken a centre stage through this taskforce but a DFID funded Malawi Vulnerability
Assessment Committee (MVAC) which assesses the vulnerability of the masses to food insecurity has
been reporting in the taskforce meetings on the effects of climate change in agriculture and on the need
for policy response. The donor community generally has been pushing for some of the international
narratives on climate change onto the local context.
4.1.6 The academia/research
The academia especially the University of Malawi through the Centre for Agricultural Research and
Development (CARD) and the Centre for Social Research (CRS) have been doing some research on policy
in agriculture and environment. However, there is currently very little research being carried out on
climate change in Malawi that could feed into the debates taking place. Most of the viewpoints
being raised are from studies and experiences taking place elsewhere. Jumbe et al. (2009) reported
that these institutions lack capacity and enough resources to carry out research on climate change
and other related issues that are relevant to the Malawi context. However there have been some
efforts to build the capacity of these institutions. One such example is the IDRC funded Climate
Change Adaptation in Africa program that is being coordinated by the Institute of Development
Studies and implemented in Malawi by Chancellor College and it aims at helping the researchers
understand the policy process involved in climate change. The LEAD trust and Malawi Environmental
Endowment Trust (MEET) have also conducted and funded some research on climate change
mitigation and adaptation. The civil society organisations and the NGOs like Oxfam and Action Aid
have also commissioned several research studies on climate change in agriculture in Malawi that
have helped to shape their programmes and activities on the ground.
4.2 Politics of Policy and Spaces for Engagement
The climate change policy debate in Malawi is currently being mostly driven by the donor
community. The front runners among the donors being NORAD, EU and the World Bank. This has
largely been through the funding they are providing to the civil society networks for policy advocacy
but also to Government departments for policy reviews and also on development programmes.
However, it has also been observed in recent times, that the Government is opening up and showing
a bigger interest in tackling issues of climate change at the policy level. This has been evident with
the recent proclamation by the president of Malawi in his speech during the parliament opening
session, that tackling climate change will be high among the priorities of Malawi Government this
year.
12
Additionally, there have also been several efforts from the Government, which among other include
the finalisation in the development of National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA), which is the
national strategic plan in the implementation of adaptation activities. However, the development
process of the NAPA was accused by some quarters especially the civil society as being closed and
top down where a few elites drafted it with minimal consultation with the grassroots (Action Aid,
2009). The government has made efforts to open up the policy space in climate change. Recently,
the Government has developed a taskforce in the Department of Environmental Affairs that will
coordinate most of the activities and consultations on climate change policy. This taskforce will
provide a space where the government, donors, private sector and the civil society, interested in
climate and environment will interact and share information on climate change.
However, the lack of sufficient capacity on climate change issues at almost all levels still remains the
major limitation in Malawi in as far as policy development in climate change is concerned. It has
been observed through a study conducted by the Centre for Environmental Policy Advocacy (CEPA)
that most of the people entrusted with policy making and also those that are implementing
programmes on climate change both in Government and the NGOs, do not have much knowledge of
climate change and its effects on the environment (CEPA, 2009). This problem has also been
exacerbated to some extent by the lack of sectoral coordination on climate change issues as there is
no clear policy framework that may guide sectoral policies in mainstreaming climate change. The
current overarching policy documents like the Vision 2020 and the Malawi Growth and Development
Strategy (MGDS), do not say much on climate change while the NAPA has much of its focus on
adaptation as opposed to mitigation and does not provide a clear framework for mainstreaming
climate change. But what are the spaces available in Malawi for policy change?
As already pointed out, the Malawi political environment has provided lots of opportunities and
spaces for popular involvement in policy making processes and implementation. This has
necessitated the formation of several structures both in Government and the civil society where
policy issues are debated and the contributions from the grassroots are supposedly incorporated
into the policies. However, in the current climate change policy scenario, it still remains to be seen
as to how the power relations between the donors, who have the funds and the technical expertise
and the government, which is mandated to make and implement policy, will shape the whole
climate change discourse in Malawi. The civil society, on the other hand has also created their own
spaces for actors engagement in policy debates. They have done this by the formation of the Civil
Society Network on Climate Change and also the proposal of a climate change and disaster
management thematic group within the Civil Society Agriculture Network (Phiri and Saka, 2008). It
still remains to be seen how these networks will be influential in their dealing with Government and
how much are they going to influence budgetary allocation to climate change activities.
The media has of late also provided some spaces for popular participation in climate change
debates. Though climate change has not been newsworthy especially for the print media as climate
change articles have been clearly absent in the newspapers and magazines, the electronic media
especially the radio and the TV have taken a reading role in informing and conducting discussion on
climate change. The TV Malawi, for instance, has its programme called chilengedwe (The
environment) which tackles all issues concerning the environment ranging from agriculture,
desertification and afforestation among others and it talks with people from all levels such as
farmers up to policy makers. The radio especially the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and the
private Zodiak Radio station have also been in the forefront to educate and inform on climate
change especially through the farm radio initiative.
13
Since the climate change debates are relatively new in the Malawi policy arena, it remains to be seen
as to what politics will shape the debates as they unfold and which spaces will open up or close
down with time. With reference to the Gaventa power cube (Gaventa, 2007) which shows the
relationship between power, spaces and level at which power is exercised, the donors and to some
extent the international NGOs operates at both the local and global levels in as far as climate change
policy is concerned. However, it has been observed that in most cases, in Malawi, the donors and
the international NGOs do not get directly involved in policy debates but facilitates and work
through local actor networks to exert their hidden power and push through their ideologies into
policy. Most powerful networks like CISANET, Farmers Union of Malawi and the National Association
for Smallholder Farmers have the backing of NGOs like Action Aid and Oxfam. Donors, like the World
Bank, NORAD, Irish Aid and the European Union have also influenced policy through civil society
networks.
4.3.0 A quick overview of some of the Agricultural and Environmental policies in relation to
climate change
4.3.1 Preamble
The Malawi agricultural sector has generally a well structured policy environment with well
articulated long term, medium term and short term policies in place and most of these policies have
been well aligned to international policies like the UN Millennium Development Goals and the
NEPAD’s CAADP. The long term overarching policy document in Malawi is the Vision 2020 which was
developed in 1998. It provides a focus of development in Malawi and also the basis upon which
national strategies and programmes are to be developed. The Vision 2020 states that “by the year
2020 Malawi as a God fearing nation, will be secure, democratically mature, environmentally
sustainable, self-reliant with equal opportunities for and active participation by all, having social
services, vibrant cultural and religious values and a technologically driven middle-income economy”.
In the medium term, Malawi has the Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) which is a single
reference document for policy makers in Government, the Private Sector, Non Governmental
Organizations and Cooperating Partners on Government’s socio-economic development priorities
for Malawi for the next five years from 2006/07 to 2010/2011 fiscal years. However, before the
MGDS was developed, Malawi had two other medium term overarching policy documents which
were the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy (MPRSP) and the Malawi Economic Growth Strategy
(MEGS) that have all phased out.
The MGDS presents a policy framework that articulates issues related to both economic growth and
development. However in its five themes, the MGDS do not explicitly articulate how Government
intends to tackle climate change at local level. Although some of the clauses in the document like
theme two on social protection and disaster management outline some of the strategies being used
internationally in climate change adaptation, theme one, sub-theme three on food security is silent
on how agricultural policies will be responsive to climate change. Recently the Government has
developed and launched the policy framework for the agriculture sector Agriculture Sector Wide
Approach (ASWAP) and it has been designed in line with the four pillars of Comprehensive African
Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
The ASWAp is the only major policy document in the agricultural sector that has made mention of
climate change though it has not provided for a clear outline of how climate change in agriculture
should be dealt with in the short term to medium term. However in the documents there are other
proposed interventions that may help to mitigate the effects of climate change and they include
14
among others: Improvement of early warning systems and weather insurance, increased use of
irrigation, protection of catchment areas and other fragile areas such as wetlands and river banks,
developing and implementing strategies for drought preparedness, developing small dams to
harvest water, use of recommended improved crop varieties that are resistant to drought, improved
knowledge and understanding on how temperature profiles in the lake disrupt fish breeding and
survival, ensuring watershed protection mainly by community-based afforestation including fruit
tree planting. However, what are some of the particular policies saying on issues related to climate
change in agriculture?
4.3.2 National Irrigation Policy and Development Strategy
The Malawi Government adopted a National Irrigation Policy and Development Strategy (NIPDS) in
June 2000 and it is supported by an Irrigation Act that was passed in 2001. The major justification of
this policy was to increase the food production outputs in the wake increasing population by utilising
the vast water bodies and resources that Malawi has. It is clear that the framers of this policy had no
climate change in mind because it is not mentioned anywhere in the document, in other words
combating climate change was not the central theme in this policy. However, the policy has
recognised the importance of drought, which has recently become a common feature resulting from
climate change as one issue that needs to be addressed through irrigation. Climate change is also
increasing the water stress on many rural households who have seen rivers and wells drying, the
policy spells out on water rights, on how water from rivers and dams will be used for irrigation
against the increasing human needs for the same water resources.
Even though climate change is not the major theme of the policy, climate change mitigation and
adaptation issues have taken a central role through the strategies spelt out in the policy document.
Of late there has been a clear response to climate change through irrigation when the Government
announced the introduction of the National Greenbelt Programme, this programme will supplement
other initiatives aimed at Malawi being a food self-sufficient country.
4.3.3 National Environmental Policy and Action Plan
Malawi developed and launched its National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) which came as a
result of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. This policy document was launched in
1994. NEAP became the Malawi’s operational tool for the implementation of the Agenda 21 and it
identifies several environmental problems that needed some coordinated efforts between several
sectors. As listed its chapter 3.2.2, these include high soil erosion, low soil fertility, deforestation,
overgrazing, over-fishing, loss of biodiversity, water resources degradation and depletion, human
habitat degradation, air pollution, and climate change.
Following NEAP, Malawi developed the National Environmental Policy (NEP) which was adopted in
1996 and was followed by the Environment Management Act. The NEP as revised in 2004 addresses
climate change in section 4.11 dealing with Air Quality and Climate Change. The policy objective
under this section is to minimize the adverse impact of climate change and variability. Among its key
strategies is the need to strengthen the existing national climate and metrological database and
monitoring networks; assess and monitor the potential impact of climate change on the functioning
of ecosystems, vegetation patterns and net carbon sinks. As a framework instrument the NEP is
expected to guide lead agencies in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, energy, industry and water
resources management in so far as their activities affect the environment and natural resources
management are concerned.
15
4.3.4 The Malawi National Strategy for Sustainable Development
The Malawi National Strategy for Sustainable Development (MNSSD) was developed and adopted in
2004, provides more concrete actions for implementing the principles in the NEP.. The MNSSD
addresses climate change under theme 3 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The theme deals with the protection and
management of the natural resources base of economic and social development. It calls upon states
to improve management of effects of climate change and variation. The NSSD stipulates the WSSD
goals which specifically deal with weather and climate.
The major goals under the MNSSD include the need to reduce damage to property and loss of life
caused by weather and climate natural disasters (floods, disasters); contribute to the sustainable
production of food and fibre, contribute to sustainable industrial production and meet the UNFCCC
obligations. Again the generation and dissemination of reliable weather and climate information is
key for disaster early warnings, public awareness, agriculture production, industrial use and water
resources management. The key strategies include procurement and installation of necessary
equipment and training, promoting awareness among vulnerable groups, among others. The lead
institution is Ministry of Transport and Public Works especially the Department of Meteorological
Services.
4.3.5 The National Water Policy
The National Water Policy provides a basis for sustainable water resources management and in this
respect calls for the formulation of mitigation measures to reduce the impact of climate change and
variability as a means of disaster preparedness and management. Disaster management is
specifically addressed and recognizes the severe economic and cultural disruption and dislocation
facing the most vulnerable population of the affected communities. The policy seeks to establish
preparedness and contingency plans for water related disasters and emergencies, as an integral part
of water resources management. Amongst the objectives and strategies are timely provision of
portable water and sanitation, information dissemination, flood warnings and providing information
to the Ministry responsible for disaster preparedness and relief.
4.3.6 National Biodiversity Policy and Action Plan
In response to the country’s obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, Malawi
adopted a National Biodiversity Policy and Action Plan (NBSAP) in 2005 which outlines key
biodiversity issues and specific interventions by various stakeholders. Of particular concern to
climate change are strategies for species monitoring and recovery, conservation of traditional agrobiodiversity resources, conservation of aquatic and mountain biodiversity that provide local
communities with significant livelihood options for food security, medicine and other uses.
As pointed out earlier on the major sectoral policies and acts in agriculture like the ones on crops
and livestock are silent on climate change. However, it has been observed that most environmental
policies have made mention of climate change though not as a central theme in those policies. This
has been evident on the fact that while climate change is mentioned, no specific activities or
implementation time lines are given. Jumbe et al (2008) observed that most of Malawi policy
documents are not costed and as such suggested activities do not come with a budgetary allocation
vote and this has made implementation difficult in the absence of resources and competing
priorities.
16
However climate change is mentioned in some key government policies as mentioned earlier (e.g
ADP and Water Policy), but it has also been observed that in these policies no specific strategies
have been developed for climate change adaptation in sector activities. Nevertheless, since most of
the current climate change problems are to do mainly with floods and drought and all the challenges
around these, government should invest more through the national budget around these issues.
4.3.7 National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA)
Malawi became one of the first countries in Africa to finalise and launch its National Adaptation Plan
of Action (NAPA) in March 1996. The NAPA document was developed to enable Malawi address her
urgent and immediate adaptation needs caused by climate change and extreme weather events.
Specifically, it aims at: (i) identifying a list of priority activities, (ii) formulating priority adaptation
options, (iii) building capacity for adapting to longer-term climate change and variability, and (iv)
raising public awareness on the urgency to adapt to the adverse effects of extreme weather events.
The NAPA was developed after evaluating the impacts of adverse climatic conditions in eight
important sectors of the economy that directly supports growth. The identified areas were ranked
using a multi-criteria analysis to arrive at a list of fifteen urgent and immediate priority needs for
adaptation. The sectors that were analyzed are agriculture, water, human health, energy, fisheries,
wildlife, forestry and gender.
In all these areas, the current situation analysis was done, the challenges were identified and the
possible interventions for adaptation were proposed. The NAPA provides a good basis that could be
utilised in adaptation program design and also policy frameworks.
5.0 Conclusion and Policy recommendations
Climate change has generally been accepted as a challenge and one of the greatest obstacles to the
development of agriculture around the world. It has been responsible for crop productivity failures
for most rain fed agriculture especially in the southern part of the world. Climate change has also
been responsible for most of the disasters like floods and droughts that have led to the destruction
of most rural livelihoods and exacerbated the levels of poverty. This has led to a call for renewed
efforts in making agriculture, which is source of livelihood for many, to be as adaptive as possible to
this phenomenon.
This paper made an attempt to analyse the policy environment around climate change in the
agricultural sector in Malawi by analysing the actors and their narratives on climate change and also
the space and the politics that are surrounding the debates taking place. It has therefore been
observed that in Malawi, there are a lot of activities taking place around agricultural policy and
climate change that has seen the rise of the civil society in demanding for policy change in
agriculture to have climate change as a central theme in most the policies. However there are
several structural challenges that have been observed in relation to policy reform in the agricultural
sector around climate change. The civil society observed that there is no policy framework available
and it needs to be put in place to help the harmonisation of agricultural policies as they will be
incorporating climate change in their sub-sectors. The ASWAp provides some oversights of climate
change and its effects in agriculture but does not provide a clear outline of how such issues can be
incorporated into sectoral policies. For instance, there are other ‘old and rigid’ policies like the crop
production policy. This policy is crop specific and does not provide any room for flexibility to
incorporate such things as climate change and their effects on crops and how policy will respond to
such issues. Such policies need a complete overhaul to respond to the current needs.
17
However the pace of change has also been slow because of the Governments reluctance to fully
accept climate change as an urgent need. Though their argument of tackling climate change
indirectly by looking more on climate change effects that policy is already addressing may make
sense however the level of budgetary allocation to such activities is still not encouraging. For
instance, the Department of Irrigation has been receiving less than half of its budgetary needs for
the past five years and most of its planned activities have not taken place (CISANET, 2009).
It has also been observed that at the moment, there are no clear and concrete positionalities that
have been developed as the actors are still in the process of analysing the effects of climate change
in their sectors. Though the civil society and the government seem to have taken their stand but
there are still divisions within themselves, among government ministries and among NGOs. However
it is expected that with the coming in of the NGO coalition on climate change, this will help the NGOs
to speak with one voice and develop common narratives on the climate change problem. Likewise,
the formation of the taskforce in the Department of Environmental Affairs could facilitate some
coordination within Government to develop clear narratives and policy positions on climate change.
On the politics and spaces for engagement around climate change policy debates, it has been
observed that the spaces are opening up, within the civil society arena but also there is some
dialogue taking place between Government and the civil society. On the other hand, the media and
the private sector, though they have not taken an active role in the debates, there has been an
increased interest in climate change as both of them are seeing their niche and their relevance in the
whole discourse. The donor community has also been supporting technically and financially to the
efforts that are being done. However, there has not been much involvement of the Parliamentary
Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources in all these debates. Their absence may be
understandable as the general elections have just taken place. Some studies carried out have
suggested that there will be a need to come up with a particular parliamentary portfolio committee
on climate change so as to give the whole climate change debate a more political face (Saka and
Phiri, 2008). What are some of the issues that need to be considered as the debates are going on
how to modify the policies in agriculture.
5.1 Public Awareness of Climate Change Issues
As pointed out earlier on, most people are aware of the weather extremes taking place, however
most of them are not aware that this is part of a bigger picture of global warming, hence climate
change and food insecurity. Local capacity needs to be build as this will help the grassroots to be
more aware of climate change and fully contribute to policy debates as more and more spaces are
opening up for them. As the local people have been adapting to climate change for centuries, there
is also need for policy makers to make sure that there is a proper integration in the development of
such things as early warning systems between the technical and scientific outputs coming out of the
National Meteorological Services and community based systems in the local planning. Technical
advances of early warning must not be used to undermine traditional knowledge, the two should
work together to enhance community understanding of the cases of the impacts and improve
mechanisms for prevention, mitigation and adaptation. It is, therefore, recommended to intensify
public awareness campaigns, education and training of all stakeholders, especially the most
vulnerable, such as women and girls. One way of doing this is by mainstreaming climate change
messages in agricultural extension.
5.2 Strengthen the Role the Non-state Actors
The non state actors especially the NGOs and the private sector (small Agro-dealers) are the groups
that work directly with the farming communities and have first hand information on the people’s
18
predicament when droughts and/or floods strike, and the human suffering that follows as people go
hungry for days on end. It is recommended that NGOs and other non-state actors should continue to
assist rural communities in addressing climate change issues at community level. However, it is also
recommended that the capacity of these NGO’s should be enhance for them to fully understand the
climate change and the process involved in climate change policy and advocacy work. This will also
help them to work properly with the grassroots as they are integrating their voices into policy
advocacy campaigns. Donors could play an important role in this capacity building process by
providing the funding and also the technical support.
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