Developing the macadamia sector in Malawi

Twin is supporting smallholder partners to realise their ambitious plans to strengthen and grow the macadamia sector in Malawi.

Working with key stakeholders and producer organisations, Twin has contributed to the development of a long-term strategic plan for creating a strong, sustainable and competitive smallholder-led macadamia sector in Malawi.

The macadamia industry in Malawi is set to experience a marked increase in production over the next decade as orchards mature and new ones are planted throughout the country. It is anticipated that smallholders will move from managing less than 1% of mature trees to over 20% in the next 10 years.

But significant support is required to build the infrastructure to ensure a robust, well-organised industry develops, in which smallholder farmers are an integral part.

Background

At present, Malawi is facing a large trade deficit which is likely to increase further with the decline in other exports. The country needs to diversify its economic base, currently dominated by a few key agricultural commodities. It also needs to develop inclusive value chains for export income and to extend economic benefits to smallholders.

Strategic investments in the Malawian macadamia industry will increase the contribution this commodity can make to export industries and help safeguard existing horticultural and processing jobs.

Malawi is facing climate change impacts which pose a serious threat to its long-term food security and productivity in the agricultural sector. There is a significant area suitable for macadamia which is yet to be exploited, providing room for significant growth in production from non-estate and smallholder growers. Furthermore, growing macadamia helps with soil stabilisation offering year round ground cover, while contour planting gives fields more structure and reduces erosion.

Macadamia is a highly nutritious commodity providing health benefits for those who grow the crop. Further development of the smallholder sector will lead to more of the nut being made available to national markets. It also facilitates smallholder diversification and is compatible with a number of crops including maize, coffee and groundnuts.

Macadamia is already a successful export industry for Malawi, but for it to continue, remain competitive and to grow further it must be more inclusive for smallholders. The Malawian macadamia industry is currently ranked the fifth 5th largest in the world, trailing behind lead producers Australia and Hawaii account for 75-80% of global production.

Twin’s work

Twin has been working with macadamia smallholder organisations in Malawi across a number of project areas. It has supported the development of export supply chains through Liberation Foods CIC and Equal Exchange into the UK and European markets. We have also worked to establish macadamia orchards, implement quality management systems and facilitate Fairtrade certification.

Additionally Twin has worked with remote sensing experts, SIRS, to develop land use and land use change maps of Neno and Ntchisi districts which we are using to develop climate change adaptation projects for macadamia smallholders in the area.

To help consolidate our work and take it forward, Twin has been working with key stakeholders including estates, smallholders, processors and non-governmental organisations, to look at ways to develop the potential of macadamia in Malawi. This has culminated in the development of a strategic plan to integrate smallholder farmers into the export-based macadamia industry in a way that is commercially viable and to establish support mechanisms that will carry the industry forward for the next 20 years.

The plan will seek to:

1. Build grower productivity, profitability and sustainability – benchmarking current practices and identifying best practices for growth.
2. Provide an enabling environment for smallholders to become a viable component of the industry – initially working directly with the Highland Macadamia Cooperative Union Limited (HIMACUL) to increase their presence in the industry and develop their infrastructure (for example building post-harvest centres and implement a quality-based buying system).
3. Secure the Malawian industry’s position as a world-class macadamia exporter – building volume and creating a register of growers to share events, information and best practices and to seek certification such as Fairtrade, Organic and Rainforest Alliance to lead in niche markets.
4. Develop an industry-wide capacity to manage growth of the industry – setting up a committee to track advancements and address challenges.

Next steps

Considerable interest from ethical trading companies to source smallholder macadamia from Malawi has enabled us to identify market opportunities. But key to the implementation of the strategic plan for macadamia is to find interested donors to resource investments in the industry which take the smallholder to the next phase of their development, and to develop a long-term funding plan to ensure the sustainability of the industry.

With over 300,000 trees established over the past 10 years by 3800 smallholders, previous projects have set in motion the development of a new smallholder sector in Malawi macadamia. Further investment is needed realise the commercial potential of this foundational work.

Contact us for more information on how to fund our work in Malawi.

Visit the Malawian Smallholder Macadamia blog for latest project and development news