Quarterly and FY 2018 Progress Report: New Alliance Policy Acceleration Support: Malawi (NAPAS: Malawi) Activity

The activity is being implemented by Michigan State University (MSU) in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the University of Pretoria (UP). The project aims to enable the Government of Malawi to implement the policy reforms agenda it committed to under the New Alliance Country Cooperation Framework for Malawi. The NAPAS: Malawi activity has three components: Policy Formulation, Policy Communication, and Capacity Strengthening. The project's goal is to provide effective technical support to the Government of Malawi so that it sustainably achieves the high-level commitments to policy reform made under the New Alliance Country Cooperation Framework for Malawi. These policy reforms have the broader aim of improving the agriculture investment climate in Malawi through commercializing agriculture and increasing the role of the private sector in Malawi's agricultural sector. During the fourth quarter of FY 2018, the NAPAS: Malawi activity made significant progress in policy formulation. The National Fertilizer Policy (NFP) was internally validated by senior management of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development (MoAIWD) on July 17, 2018. The draft policy was then submitted to the Secretary for Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development on July 24, 2018. The NAPAS activity will support the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) in convening a committee of Principal Secretaries to review and approve the National Fertilizer Policy. The NAPAS: Malawi activity also supported the development of a Fertilizer Bill to operationalize the National Fertilizer Policy. A writeshop was organized to align the draft Fertiliser Bill of 2014 to the draft National Fertiliser Policy at Mount Soche Hotel from September 10 to 12, 2018. The meeting was attended by 16 participants, including a legal expert from the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. The next step will be to develop/draft regulations in the Fertiliser Bill, which will involve engaging subject matter specialists and Malawi Bureau of Standards to draft those regulations. In addition, the NAPAS: Malawi activity worked closely with the USAID-funded SANE activity and the Department of Agricultural Extension Services to improve and strengthen the Agriculture Sector Food and Nutrition Strategy (ASFNS). The draft document was validated by senior management of MoAIWD together with the National Fertiliser Policy on July 17, 2018. Comments from the validation workshop were incorporated in the draft Strategy in August, 2018. The Strategy was then submitted to a copy editor in September, 2018, who has since finalized editorial work. The NAPAS: Malawi activity also conducted additional consultations to inform review of the Special Crops Act (SCA), Agriculture General Purposes Act (AGPA), and Contract Farming Legislation. A total of 237 stakeholders were consulted from 94 interviews conducted between April and July 2018. Notes from stakeholder consultations were transcribed and analysis of the input and report writing was conducted by Mr. Andrew Comstock of IFPRI. Following completion of the report, the NAPAS activity held a validation workshop on the review on September 27, 2018, at Ufulu Gardens Hotel in Lilongwe. The NAPAS: Malawi activity has made significant progress in policy formulation and implementation during the fourth quarter of FY 2018. The project's goal is to provide effective technical support to the Government of Malawi so that it sustainably achieves the high-level commitments to policy reform made under the New Alliance Country Cooperation Framework for Malawi. The project's progress will continue to be monitored and evaluated to ensure that it meets its objectives and contributes to the improvement of the agriculture investment climate in Malawi.