The randomness and uncertainty that affect agriculture make it unreasonable to assume that the adjustment process will lead to a unique sustainable market equilibria. The equilibria levels of prices and quantities of different commodities depend on many random variables and, thus, are random variables themselves. The introduction as part of the dynamic adjustment rules to the policy plan aims to assure that the agricultural economy will approach sustainable equilibria under all circumstances. The performance of the agricultural sector and agricultural policies will be scrutinized and reevaluated over time . Grown changes in the state of the agricultural economy, the technology , and in the distribution of political power among groups over time, the policy reform should be reassessed and redesigned periodically, say, every 10 years. Processes of policy redesign will evaluate all the dimensions of performance of agriculture, the states of agricultural resources, and the economy. They will use the process described in section 2 of this paper to identify effective policy instruments and monitoring, enforcement, and eligibility criteria and to introduce efficiency-enhancing and politically feasible agricultural policies. Policy reform in agriculture, making it more efficient, flexible, and self-reliant,plastic flower buckets wholesale has to be made with recognition of the characteristics of this sector and economic and political constrains. Agriculture in developed countries has tended to reach situations of excessive supply, resulting in low farm product prices and low returns to farmers.

Past government policies have actually contributed to this excess supply problem, mostly because program benefits were linked to output. An essential element of a new policy regime is the introduction of less-coupled policies, i.e., the use of policy instruments which benefits are not directly linked to output. New policy instruments will aim and be monitored by the ability to attain several objectives, including the provision of affordable food, stable and fair farm income, sustainable resource base, environmental quality, rural preservation, and a balanced budget. The relative weight attached to each objective depends on the political support it commands. It was argued that the optimal policy instruments should be determined so the rate of political substitution between two instruments is equal to the rate of efficiency substitution between the instruments when political support reflects both the extent and strength of political support. This optimality rule can be utilized in designing new policy regimes and should guide an iterative process of negotiation that leads to policy decision. Policies should be viewed within a dynamic context, a policy reform should aim at establishing a long-run equilibrium, and policy instruments will guide the adjustment process toward the equilibrium and then maintain it. Since agriculture currently has excess capacity, a major objective of agricultural policies in the near future is the down sizing of the production capacity of agriculture. Policies will divert excess resources outside the sector, support conservation activities to reduce supply, and encourage development of new uses of agricultural resources. Mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement should be designed as part of the policy reform, and much emphasis should be given on the prevention of abuse. Efforts should be made to establish eligibility criteria which are dependent on variables that are not modifiable.

Policies should be evaluated and reassessed periodically. Changes over time should reflect change in power distribution among groups and in information so that the policy should be redesigned if needed. More research on the different impacts of agricultural policies and the weight attached to different policy objectives in the design of agricultural policies is needed. Furthermore, experimentation with some of the policy procedures introduced in this paper may help to develop an efficient agricultural policy making process. Malawi is a landlocked country in Southern Africa with a population of 18.6 million that relies heavily on agriculture . In fact, agriculture is the most important sector of the Malawian economy and maize is the most widely grown crop. Changing climate conditions pose significant challenges to Malawi’s economic and food security due to a heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture which will be impacted significantly by droughts and floods. This sector is less resilient to these changes due to a heavy reliance on traditional farming practices that largely do not utilize agricultural inputs and often result in low yields. In 2000, the Government of Malawi adopted a new agricultural extension policy to promote a pluralistic extension system that allows for the delivery of specialized services to farmers by governmental institutions, nongovernmental organizations , and private industry. These extension services are intended to support the adoption of new technologies, practices, knowledge, and information that can help farmers increase productivity and adapt to changing climatic conditions. Yet, the adoption of improved agricultural practices amongst farmers remains low. These challenges include a lack of coordination and communication amongst extension providers, conflicting messages disseminated to farmers by various extension providers operating in Malawi, and inadequate engagement among all stakeholders.

These challenges will be amplified as farmers will need even more support to adapt to climate change as their ability to grow food using traditional methods will be severely impacted by unpredictable and severe droughts and floods. There is need to harmonize the efforts of extension providers to enhance the delivery of agricultural services and more effectively support framers to adapt to climate change. This harmonization could be achieved through increased collaboration in agricultural service provision and would support the country’s goal of increasing the sustainable intensification of maize even given changing climatic conditions. Agriculture is the most important sector of the Malawian economy, employing 85% of the country’s labor force . Malawi’s main cash crops include tobacco, tea, cotton, groundnut, coffee and sugar. Maize is the largest food crop grown in Malawi, comprising over 70% of the total cultivated land . Other important food crops typically grown alongside maize include cassava, ground nut, sweet potato, sorghum, rice, and Irish potato. Maize grown across all regions of Malawi represents 48% of the total caloric intake of Malawi’s population and is an important contributor to national food security .Eighty percent of the country’s maize is grown by smallholder farmers using traditional farming practices, rain-fed systems, and low agricultural inputs . There are an estimated two-million smallholder farmers in Malawi who cultivate an average land area of 0.80 hectares . Low productivity, declining soil fertility, and soil erosion pose significant threats to the agriculture-based economy . Despite efforts to increase agricultural productivity, crop yields remain low. For maize, yields average between 1-2 metric tons per hectare . These current maize yields are far below their potential of 5-10 metric tons per hectare . This disparity demonstrates a major yield gap in the potential of maize production. GoM attributes low crop productivity to low adoption of agricultural technologies, low access to farming inputs such as fertilizers, low technical skills,black flower buckets and limited available irrigation . Additionally, a lack of information to guide farming production decisions has been identified as a key productivity constraint . Improving agricultural extension services is therefore critical to increasing production, sustaining economic growth, and feeding the growing population of Malawi. In 2011, GoM developed an Agricultural Sector Wide Approach that aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and improving national food security. This approach aimed at supporting farmers to increase crop yields through the development of a subsidy program for agricultural inputs. Additionally, ASWAp called for the widespread implementation of sustainable intensification practices for agriculture including soil conservation, soil fertility management, improved irrigation systems, and efficient water usage. In particular, ASWAp called for increasing maize productivity through sustainable intensification and improved practices for soil and water management.Maize is the most important food crop grown in Malawi.

The optimum production of maize requires particular seeds, proper soil management practices, effective fertilizers, effective weed, insect, and disease control, and appropriate harvesting techniques . The production of maize typically requires between 450-600 m of water per season to produce optimal yields . In fact, it has been estimated that 15 kg of grain are produced for each millimeter of water consumed by the plant . By the time the plant reaches maturity, it will have consumed about 250 liters of water. Once the plant reaches maturity, it will also have removed about 8.7 g of nitrogen, 5.1 g of phosphorous and 4 g of potassium from the soil . Under moist conditions, seedlings emerge from the ground 6 – 10 days after initial planting. However, it may take up to three weeks for a seed to germinate under cool, dry conditions . The optimal soil moisture content for germination is fairly high at 60% of soil capacity . New leaves begin to unfold every third day and both the leaf and stem mass area dramatically increases once sixteen or more leaves have unfolded, the tassel has been visible for a few days, and the lateral shoot bearing the main corn ear is visible. At this stage, the plant has almost reached full maturity. The demand for nutrient inputs and water is very high at this stage and as the plant begins to produce cornels. Maize thrives in well-drained, moist soils with high nutrient concentrations. Sand, clay, and clay-loam soils are most optimal for high-yielding maize crops. Water availability during the growing season is the most important factor in determining plant growth and yield in Malawi. Therefore, soil tillage practices should increase water infiltration and reduce evaporation . In order to reduce soil erosion during floods or extreme wind, it is critical to maintain a thick layer of topsoil. Different types of plows can be used to coarsely turn the soil and reduce erosion. Alternative strategies such as no-till, mulching, and manure applications can also help to improve soil quality and nutrient concentrations. Applications of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and zinc are also important in ensuring maximum growth potential, but should not exceed maximum recommended applications of 30-70 kg per hectare . Management of weeds, pests, and disease is also critical in reducing production losses and limiting crop damage. Chemical, biological, and physical controls can be implemented to manage these risks depending on their source and severity. Therefore, it is critical for farmers to have adequate inputs and appropriate information to meet the requirements detailed above in order to produce optimal yields and sustain their incomes as farmers. Malawi’s climate is considered subtropical with two distinct seasons – a cool, dry season lasting from May to October and a warm rainy season from November to April . However, recent changes to temperature and precipitation in Malawi have affected the ability of farmers to grow food. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change “increased water stress for 75 to 250 million people, reduced yields from rain-fed agriculture by up to 50%, sea level rise, and an increase of 5 to 8% of arid and semi- arid land in Africa,” is expected to occur throughout the 21st century; thus Africa remains one of the most vulnerable continents to rapid climate change . GoM’s ASWAp found that climate change was a severe threat to increasing the country’s agricultural productivity. The ASWAp approach calls for the widespread implementation of innovative agricultural practices to mitigate and adapt to climate changes for vulnerable farmers. The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II and the 2016 National Climate Change Management Policy provide strategic direction for climate change priories and call for increased funding and capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects . Changing climate conditions pose significant challenges for Malawi due to a heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture which comprises 90% of cultivated land . According to the World Bank, only 3.3% of rural farming households have access to crop irrigation . Periods of extreme drought and severe flash flooding events have increased in frequency, intensity, and unpredictability, giving the most vulnerable farming households inadequate time to respond and recover. Malawi has experienced severe natural disasters over the past thirty years including the 1991 drought which affected over six million people and the 2002 drought and flood that resulted in a pronounced food crisis . The recent floods of 2015 and 2016 have resulted in losses of USD $335 million and USD $365 million respectively . Changes in the timing and intensity of precipitation, coupled with higher evapotranspiration rates resulting from higher temperatures, pose substantial threats to food security in Malawi .