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Evaluating Fertilizer Subsidies in Malawi

Mar 15th, 2024 • by Sara Gustafson

Since the 1950s, Malawi has used a national fertilizer subsidy program as a way to spur use of inorganic fertilizers, boost domestic maize production, and ensure food security and self-sufficiency for smallholder farmers. According to new working paper from the Malawi Strategy Support Program, however, the national subsidy program may not be the most efficient investment for improving the country’s food security and domestic production goals.

Multiple Pathways to Better Food and Nutrition Security: Evidence from Uganda

Feb 11th, 2024 • by Sara Gustafson

More than half of the adult population in Uganda is employed in the agriculture and fishery industries, with an estimated 36 percent engaging in subsistence agriculture. Despite the importance of agriculture to Uganda’s economy, however, the country continues to suffer from high rates of food insecurity. Small-scale farmers are often particularly hard hit by the cycle of poverty and hunger due to the vulnerability of their livelihoods to price shocks, extreme weather events, and other disruptions.

Expanding conflict brings new food security challenges for Sudan

Feb 7th, 2024 • by Sara Gustafson

Conflict continues to drive acute food insecurity and food assistance needs in Sudan, according to a recent FEWS Net alert.

Fighting in the country has expanded into Sudan’s southeast region, a major agricultural production and food storage area. The region typically accounts for more than 50 percent of Sudan’s annual domestic cereal production. Conflict-led disruptions to both agricultural production and trade, including destruction of infrastructure, pose a substantial threat to food availability throughout the country, reports FEWS Net.

Grappling with compounding crises in domestic fertilizer markets in Africa: The case of Ethiopia

Jan 23rd, 2024 • by KIBROM A. ABAY, THOMAS W. ASSEFA, GUUSH BERHANE, GASHAW T. ABATE, AND CHARLOTTE HEBEBRAND

Global fertilizer markets experienced significant price surges beginning in 2020 and through 2022 due to a combination of factors, including higher natural gas prices, supply chain disruptions triggered by COVID-19, trade disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war, and export restrictions. Although parallel increases in international agricultural commodity prices may have cushioned these price shocks, insufficient availability and affordability of fertilizers are likely to have affected yield and profitability of smallholder production systems.

How is Kenya’s National Fertilizer Subsidy Program working?

Dec 28th, 2023 • by HAILEMARIAM AYALEW, JOSEPH KARUGIA, JOHN OLWANDE, AND CLEMENS BREISINGER

The Kenyan National Fertilizer Subsidy Program (NFSP), implemented during the short rainy season in September 2022, has emerged as a pivotal policy in the government’s efforts to expand food production and mitigate soaring food prices.