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Malawi · Section 1 of 9

Overview

Malawi is a farm economy of small holdings, averaging 0.9 hectares in the 2025 agricultural census, in which maize is the crop at the centre of food policy and tobacco the leading agri-food export. Agriculture, forestry and fishing produced 28.9% of GDP at current prices in 2023, and 85.7% of households farmed in 2024/25. The El Niño drought of 2024 cut the maize harvest by 22.7%, and 6.2 million people faced acute food insecurity in the 2024/25 lean season. Banks lent K374.5 billion to agriculture at the end of 2025, 15.2% of their loans, and the policy rate stood at 24.0% in August 2026.

Agriculture share of GDP
28.9%
20231
Agricultural value added
4.48US$ bn
20252
Real agricultural growth
1.3%
2025 (est.)3
Households engaged in agriculture
85.7%
2024/254
Maize harvest
3.30million t
2025/265
Bank loans to agriculture
374.5MWK bn
≈ US$214 m6
end-20257
Agriculture share of bank loans
15.2%
end-20257
Agri-food exports
855US$ m
20258
1.1

At a glance

Agriculture accounted for 28.9% of GDP in 2023 and engaged 85.7% of households in 2024/25. Agriculture, forestry and fishing generated K4,479.5 billion of value added in 2023, 28.9% of GDP at current prices and 22.2% at constant 2017 prices1. The World Bank puts value added at US$4.48 billion in 20252. In the Sixth Integrated Household Survey of 2024/25, 85.7% of households took part in agriculture, and 92.1% in rural areas4. The Labour Force Survey of 2024, which excludes people who grew food only for their own consumption and worked under 48 hours, counted 39.3% of the employed in agriculture9. The national poverty rate was 47.3% in 2024/25 and 52.6% in rural areas10.

Maize is central to food policy and tobacco to export earnings. The Ministry of Agriculture estimated the maize harvest at 3.51 million tonnes in 2022/23, 2.71 million tonnes in the drought season 2023/24 and 3.30 million tonnes in 2025/26115. Smallholders farmed an average of 0.9 hectares in the 2025 agricultural census, and 71.8% of their land was held under customary tenure12. Tobacco accounted for US$610.3 million of the US$855.1 million of agri-food exports in 2025, and the auction floors sold 221 million kg for US$542 million in the 2025 season813. Malawi ranked second in the world for pigeon peas in 2024 on FAO data (FAO imputed value)14.

The state supports inputs and maize marketing. The fertiliser input subsidy reached 1,270,808 beneficiaries in 2024/25 and has an approved budget of K111.45 billion for 2026/27, about US$63.8 million15166. In 2026 the National Food Reserve Agency bought maize at the government minimum price of K900 per kg, and ADMARC resumed maize purchases in June 202617.

Lending rates were above 30% at the end of 2025 and in June 2026, and the kwacha was devalued in May 2022 and November 2023. The average maximum lending rate of banks was 37.3% at the end of 2025 and 32.4% in June 202618. Bank loans to agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting were K374.5 billion at the end of 2025, about US$214 million76. The Reserve Bank devalued the kwacha by 25% in May 202219. In November 2023, with the foreign exchange market changes, the kwacha was devalued by 44% and the official rate moved to near 1,700 per dollar202122. The policy rate was raised to 26.0% in February 2024 and cut to 24.0% in March 20262324.

Climate shocks recur. Cyclone Freddy caused damage and losses of US$506.7 million in March 2023, and a state of disaster was declared over the El Niño drought in 23 of 28 districts on 23 March 20242526.

Out of every 100…
Agriculture's weight in households, jobs, output and credit
86
households took part in agriculture (2024/25)4
39
employed persons worked in agriculture, forestry or fishing (2024, excluding most own-use farming)9
28.9
kwacha of GDP came from agriculture, forestry and fishing (2023, current prices)1
15.2
kwacha of bank loans went to agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (end-2025)7
3.30 Mt
maize harvest in 2025/26, after 2.71 Mt in the drought season 2023/245
US$610 m
tobacco exports in 2025, 71.4% of agri-food exports8
6.2 million
people in IPC Phase 3 or above in the 2024/25 lean season5
23 of 28
districts under the state of disaster declared on 23 March 202426
Agriculture's share of GDP
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, % of GDP at current and at constant 2017 prices, 2017–2023 (NSO)
Source: NSO — NSO GDP Summary Tables (February 2025), production approach, 2017 base. The rising current-price share reflects faster price growth in agriculture than in the rest of the economy. The Ministry of Finance puts the constant-price share at 21.8% in 2024 and estimates 21.5% for 20253.
Agriculture's share of bank loans
% of commercial bank gross loans, end of year 2012–2025
Source: RBM · RBM/RFI — Registrar of Financial Institutions basis. Shares for 2017–2024 are own calculations from the loan amounts, and 2025 is the published 15.2%. The Financial Stability Report gives 16.5% for June 202632.
1.2

Key issues for agricultural finance

Rain-fed maize exposed to drought and cyclones

The 2023/24 maize harvest was 22.7% below the previous season, and Cyclone Freddy caused US$110.4 million of damage and losses in crops, livestock, irrigation and fisheries in 20231125.

Small farms and customary land

The average smallholding was 0.9 ha in the 2025 census, and 81.9% of agricultural households reported unregistered parcels12.

High interest rates

The policy rate was 24.0% in August 2026 and the average maximum lending rate of banks 32.4% in June 20263318.

Exchange-rate adjustment and foreign currency shortage

The official rate was held near 1,750 kwacha per dollar from March 2024 to September 2026, while the IMF reported shortages of foreign exchange and a wide gap to the parallel market343521.

Few adults borrow formally

50.4% of adults had an account in 2024, mostly mobile money, and 6.7% borrowed from a formal institution36.

Structured markets

Banks financed K221 billion of warehouse receipts on the ACE system over the 2022/23–2024/25 seasons, while no commencement notice for the Warehouse Receipts Act of 2017 was found3738.
Notes on the data. National accounts are NSO figures on the 2017 base, available at current prices to 2023. Later years are Ministry of Finance estimates at constant prices. Crop figures are the Ministry of Agriculture's Agricultural Production Estimates Survey (APES), and the season label refers to the harvest year (2025/26 is the 2026 harvest). Bank credit by sector is from the Registrar of Financial Institutions, and trade by partner is from UN Comtrade for 2025, the latest year Malawi has reported. Kwacha amounts are converted at IMF rates to 2023 and at Reserve Bank of Malawi official rates for 2024–2026.

Sources cited on this page

  1. GDP Summary Tables, GDP by activity 2017-2023, 2017 base year (XLSX, attached to 'National Accounts' release of 24 Feb 2025; identical file also attached to 14 Dec 2024 release, media 463) — National Statistical Office of Malawiverified
  2. World Development Indicators – Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (current US$), NV.AGR.TOTL.CD (API, JSON) — World Bankverified
  3. Annual Economic Report 2026 (PDF, Budget Document 2, March 2026) — Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralization, Malawiverified
  4. Sixth Integrated Household Survey (IHS6) 2024-2025 Cross-Section Report (PDF, June 2026) — National Statistical Office of Malawiverified
  5. Malawi IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis April 2026 - March 2027, published 7 August 2026 (PDF) — Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, Malawi Technical Working Group (copy hosted by IFPRI Food Security Portal)verified
  6. IMF, Exchange Rates (ER) dataset – Malawi, domestic currency per US$ (end of period and period average) — International Monetary Fund (IMF), Statistics Departmentverified
  7. Financial Institutions Annual Report for 2025 (PDF) — Registrar of Financial Institutions (Reserve Bank of Malawi)verified
  8. UN Comtrade – Malawi, agri-food trade (HS chapters 01–24) by partner, 2025 (public preview API, JSON) — United Nations Statistics Divisionverified
  9. Malawi Labour Force Survey 2024 Report (PDF, released 18 Nov 2025) — National Statistical Office of Malawiverified
  10. Monetary Poverty and Inequality Report, IHS6 2024/25 (PDF, published 14 Oct 2026) — National Statistical Office of Malawiverified
  11. Malawi Food Security Outlook October 2024 - May 2025 (HTML) — Famine Early Warning Systems Networkverified
  12. National Census of Agriculture (NACA) 2025 Report (PDF, released 16 Mar 2026) — National Statistical Office of Malawiverified
  13. 2026 Tobacco marketing season opens April 20, 16 April 2026 (HTML) — Tobacco Commission, Malawiverified
  14. FAOSTAT QCL all-countries bulk file used for own-calculation world ranks, release 23 Dec 2025 (CSV) — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsverified
  15. Budget Document No. 5, 2026/27 Approved Programme Based Budget, Central Ministries, Vote 190 Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development (PDF) — Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralization, Malawiverified
  16. Budget Document No. 3, Approved 2026/27 Financial Statement (PDF) — Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralization, Malawiverified
  17. Malawi Food Security Outlook Update August 2026 - January 2027, information as of 28 August 2026 (HTML) — Famine Early Warning Systems Networkverified
  18. Interest Rate Monthly Average Figures Jan 1980 – Jun 2026 (XLSX) — Reserve Bank of Malawiverified
  19. Press Release – Speculation on Devaluation of the Kwacha, 2022 (PDF) — Reserve Bank of Malawiverified
  20. Annual Economic Report 2024 (PDF) — Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralization, Malawiverified
  21. Malawi: 2025 IMF Country Report No. 25/226, August 2025 (PDF) — International Monetary Fundverified
  22. Statistics – Major Foreign Exchange Rates, daily RBM buying/middle/selling rates with date filter (web page) — Reserve Bank of Malawiverified
  23. Statement of the First 2024 Monetary Policy Committee Meeting, 1 February 2024 (PDF) — Reserve Bank of Malawiverified
  24. Statement of the Monetary Policy Committee, First Meeting of 2026, 5 March 2026 (PDF) — Reserve Bank of Malawiverified
  25. Malawi 2023 Tropical Cyclone Freddy Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, April 2023 (PDF on UN Malawi site) — Government of Malawi (with World Bank, GFDRR, United Nations and EU Delegation)verified
  26. Press release, The United Nations and Humanitarian Partners appeal for US$136.5 million to assist people affected by El Niño-induced drought in Malawi, 24 July 2024 (PDF) — United Nations Malawi, Resident Coordinator's Officeverified
  27. Bank Supervision Annual Report 2012 (PDF) — Reserve Bank of Malawiverified
  28. Financial Institutions Supervision Annual Report 2014 (PDF) — Registrar of Financial Institutions (Reserve Bank of Malawi)verified
  29. Financial Institutions Supervision Annual Report 2016 (PDF) — Registrar of Financial Institutions (Reserve Bank of Malawi)verified
  30. Financial Institutions Supervision Annual Report 2018 (PDF) — Registrar of Financial Institutions (Reserve Bank of Malawi)verified
  31. Financial Institutions Annual Report for 2021 (PDF) — Registrar of Financial Institutions (Reserve Bank of Malawi)verified
  32. Financial Stability Report June 2026 (PDF) — Reserve Bank of Malawiverified
  33. Statement of the Monetary Policy Committee, Third Meeting of 2026, 6 August 2026 (PDF) — Reserve Bank of Malawiverified
  34. September 2026 Exchange Rates – Selected Actual Market Foreign Exchange Rates (XLSX, sheets Daily rates, End Rates, Average Rates, Annual Averages) — Reserve Bank of Malawiverified
  35. Press Release No. 25/261, IMF Executive Board Concludes 2025 Article IV Consultation with Malawi (22 Jul 2025) — International Monetary Fundverified
  36. Global Findex via World Bank API, source 28 and WDI (JSON) — World Bankverified
  37. ACE in Focus, Building structured agricultural trade in Malawi, collection of articles 2023-2025, October 2025 (PDF hosted by AFM) — Agricultural Commodity Exchange for Africaverified
  38. Warehouse Receipts Act, 2017, Act No. 3 of 2018 (PDF) — Government of Malawi (Laws.Africa Commons copy)verified
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AI-assisted content, human-reviewed: This page was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a human editor. (last review: October 2026) Despite review, errors or outdated values may remain; please verify critical figures against the linked primary sources before relying on them. Nothing here is investment, legal or financial advice.
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