To sell or consume? Exploring gendered household decision-making on nutritious cash crop production, consumption and sales in Malawi

By Noora-Lisa Aberman, IFPRI Malawi

Study RationaleMarket Engagement, Poverty & Nutrition

Households are made of people!

Women’s income and assets

Market Engagement and Nutrition in Malawi

• Agriculture sector largely based on subsistence farming, thin markets, little commercial processing

• Tobacco dominates the export sector, but global demand falling

• National export strategy supports promotion of oilseeds as high-potential commodities for commercial development

• Demonstrates shift in ag policy towards commercialization

Market Engagement, Poverty and Nutrition

• Past literature on commercialization, criticizes for high risks to smallholders, e.g., price fluctuations

• Potential for both risk reduction and increased income when crops are nutritious AND commercially viable (if prices crash, it can be consumed)– there is also potential for general improvement in

diets (quality of food people eat)– but pathways are complex…

Theoretical Pathways1. Own consumption save some for

home use2. Higher income afford more

nutritious foods3. More nutritious foods available

in markets market availability and lower/stabilize prices

4. Mediated by women’s control over decisions and income

Why household decision-making dynamics?

• Important to remember that a household is made up of individuals with different responsibilities and priorities

• Negotiations happen within a household that impact how scarce resources are used, and may have differential benefits for individual household members

• In a typical household in Malawi, women and men both have some degree of decision making power related to production choices and income use, and they also have different responsibilities and priorities

Women: the key to food security and nutrition

• Women’s assets and income: Research shows that women invest more in the food security and health status of their families than men. Women are more likely to use income on food and health care.

• Women’s time: Women are typically primary caretakers, for children, for adults, for sick and elderly. In particular for young children, who require careful frequent feedings and attention to sanitation to thrive and grow to potential, women’s time is crucial

Research and Sampling Approach

• In-depth qualitative interviews with 39 men and 41 women, usually of the same household

• 12-15 households in 3 communities representing the 3 regions of Malawi– Karonga, North; Balaka, South; Ntchisi, Central) – to capture some of the major social, consumption and production

differences• All households producing either soya, groundnuts or milk

and within 5km of a major daily market• Interview transcribed and translated, transcriptions were

thematically coded using NVivo qualitative analysis software

ResultsProduction of nutritious and marketable commodities: understanding gendered household decision making and implications for diets

Results Across 3 Districts • Food preferences are similar, almost universal, and based on

norms or habituation– ‘Proper’ meal is nsima with relish; while relish is important, to be without

nsima is to be poor and hungry

• ‘Aspirational’ foods : meat, rice, chicken, cooking oil, milk (fresh or fermented), bread, sugar, eggs, soy products, or simply more-frequent nsima-and-relish based meals– Access constrained by market availability and finances

• Households gave careful thought to balancing consumption and sale – Reflecting on a variety of factors: food security, financial, agricultural

production, social obligations (among others)– Maize is prioritized as a food security crop, sometime sold but there is

widespread concern of running out later in the season

• Decision-making about production, consumption and sale is gendered

Balancing Household Priorities

“I kept one pail and half of soya but sold one pail because of problem of school fees for the child and I am remaining with half pail. I kept half a pail for consumption and there was no influence from any organization. I just keep some soya for porridge at home. On the part of maize I did not sell any of the 22 bags I produced because it is the main food for the home but I also expect some money from the soya that was submitted for sale so there was no pressure to sell maize. As for beans I produced 60 kg and it was all sold in August but money is not yet received, I just kept little beans, about 2.5kg for consumption, otherwise we are not allowed to keep any of it if it is a contract. I also produced 2 bags of cow peas and it was all sold at K300 per kg in August, I did not keep any following the contract terms. Ground nuts produced were 6 unshelled bags and I sold 3 bags in August, I kept some for consumption by adding to relish but also roasting as it provided nutrition to the body.”

(Ntchisi household)

Food Preferences: Staple and Aspiration

• “For nutritious foods, the first thing is nsima. For someone to look strong you need nsima. We can’t afford different food groups here in the village; we just go for nsima all through. If I do not eat nsima, I may not even do anything sensible at home.”

• “If we had enough money, I would be eating meat only; it is the highest rated relish on earth. If you think of a well-to-do person who eats well, his/her relish is meat.”– Household interview, Karonga

Food Preferences, All Districts

Consumption and Sale: Key Factors

“When you grow maize, you chase hunger from your home” – Household interview, Karonga

• Food security: most important factor affecting decisions about consumption vs. sale of crops or livestock– Maize is most important subject of food security concerns

• Financial needs: families need cash for both regular HH expenses and in cases of shocks

• Quantity: if harvest is low, not worth selling• Seed banking: part of harvest kept for next season’s cultivation• Pricing: strategic decisions taken WRT timing and pricing• Social needs: some produce often kept for sharing among relatives or

for ceremonial needs• Insurance: livestock in particular serves as both savings and insurance

plan

Decisions on Production, Consumption, Sale

• Highly gendered: while discussion and consultation within HHs are reported, men tend to have final say on larger decisions

• Distinction between domestic sphere (production for use, mainly female) and public sphere (production for exchange, mainly male)– Women’s decisions: revolve particularly around kitchen crops– Men’s decisions: revolve particularly around cash crops

• Also very important intermediate sphere, encompassing produce which may be consumed or sold– This is an especially key category because these items can serve

different purposes according to context and needs

Domestic consumption, use-value, ‘kitchen crops’

Mainly female

Peas Beans Vegetables

Intermediate: important for both food security and sale

Male and female

• Maize• Groundnut• Soya

Public sphere, exchange-value, commodities

Male

Cotton Sesame

Implications for Policy• Most crops, especially nutritious cash crops, exhibit some

duality in terms of male and female decision-making• Programs engaging with ‘intermediate’ crops should exercise

cautious awareness of this duality and awareness of impacts on gender dynamics and should also be cautious about undermining existing food security priorities

• Programs engaging in ‘domestic’ crops can promote production and productivity to benefit women’s relative power and assets in the household.– But they must be cautious of impacts on women’s time– And engaging in commercial activities may eventually shift these

crops to the “intermediate” position, or in extreme cases, push them towards the male, cash-crop sphere

Implications for Policy• Household decisions around consumption versus

sale are complex and consider various factors. Pinpointing which pathway (consumption or sale) may not be relevant, because families make strategic and contextual decisions in their own best interest– Rather, support overall availability of nutritious foods in

markets (e.g., support a nutritious food market environment)

– Create or strengthen linkages with markets– Leverage and consolidate already sophisticated ability for

analytical assessments around consumption and sale