The winds of change: sustainable livelihoods and food security in cassava farming systems in Malawi

Agriculture in Malawi accounts for 35% of GDP, more than 90% of exchange foreign earnings and provides employment to the 92% of the population that is rural.

In areas of the country where cassava is the main staple crop, farmers appear to preferentially grow cultivars that produce roots that are both bitter and toxic. Paradoxically, even the populations that have suffered acute toxic effects from cassava seem to favour bitter and toxic cultivars, although non-toxic cultivars are locally available. The authors hypothesise that the farmers must have good reasons for preferring bitter and toxic cassava cultivars given that their use obliges adherence to laborious processing methods to avoid acute poisoning. Quantitative interview studies in Tanzania and Malawi indicate that cassava farmers regard the bitterness and toxicity of roots as protecting their cassava crop against theft, spoilage by animals and unplanned harvesting by family members.

The authors discuss the role cassava plays as a staple food in some districts in Malawi, and they conclude by discussing the construct of thievery and its negative impact on food security, the implication on food safety and food production especially in the context of women-headed households and resource-poor small-scale farmers