Smallholder agriculture, livelihood systems & food security: a four-year longitudinal study of central Malawi

Abstract

This thesis provides a detailed analysis of the livelihoods system and agriculture change processes employed by rural households in central Malawi from 2010 to 2013. Its main aim is to explore livelihood changes in smallholder agriculture and food security. This will provide substantial insight into how different components of the livelihood system and the supports provided to households influence critical indicators of food security and asset ownership, thus adding to the current body of knowledge and will inform policy and program design. The specific objectives of the research are: To analyse the livelihood systems of the studied households across three districts in central Malawi and how these systems differed by gender and over time. To determine if there were any changes in the food security and asset ownership in households over the study period and to establish how gender and levels of asset ownership influence disparities. To identify what household characteristics and livelihood strategies influence food security and asset ownership. To establish what agricultural change processes were available to the studied households and how these were used, by male and female-headed households. To assess if the agricultural change processes used influence the food security and asset ownership outcomes of the studied households.