Effects of affordable inputs program on food poverty alleviation among smallholder farmers in Malawi

Abstract

Malawi’s Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) aims to enhance smallholder productivity and food security by providing subsidized access to fertilizer and improved seeds, thereby reducing poverty among farming households. Despite its national importance, evidence on its effectiveness in reducing household food poverty remains mixed due to persistent concerns about targeting accuracy, inclusivity, and household vulnerability to climatic shocks. Using nationally representative data of 7,804 agricultural households from the Fifth Integrated Household Survey (IHS5), we apply the control function (CF) approach to address endogeneity in subsidy participation and estimate the programme’s causal impact on food poverty. Descriptive results show that AIP beneficiaries are more likely to be female-headed, widowed, and rural households, and tend to have relatively greater access to extension services, land, and livestock assets, with patterns indicating that only the complete AIP package is associated with noticeable improvements in poverty outcomes. The control function estimates reveal that each additional coupon reduces the probability of being food poor by 16.3 percent and lowers the food poverty gap by 6.1 percent, suggesting meaningful but moderate improvements in household food welfare. In addition, factors such as higher education, employment, access to credit, business ownership, livestock holdings, and urban residence significantly improve household welfare. Overall, the study highlights the need to strengthen targeting by also considering the educated and the youth, and complement the AIP with credit access, education, and climate-resilient support to maximize its contribution to sustainable food security in Malawi