Publication: Malawi - The Emergency Drought Recovery Project
Date
2006-10
ISSN
Published
2006-10
Author(s)
Mohan, P.C.
Abstract
This project was designed and
implemented (January 2003-November 2004) in response to
Malawi's severe food crisis in 2002, caused by the
drought and floods in 2001 and 2002, which resulted in a
significant drop in maize output, the country's main
staple food. The food crisis was exacerbated by a suboptimal
harvest in the previous year. In addition, the Early Warning
System (EWS) failed by predicting a food surplus when in
fact a major food deficit was looming. Poor management of
the Strategic Grain Reserve and an over-reliance on maize in
the diet were additional factors which compounded the
crisis. This combination of an IDA credit of $29 million
equivalent and a grant of $21 million equivalent were used
to finance 3 components. (i) Quick disbursing assistance to
support critical imports through a positive list of import
requirements linked to the drought and recovery efforts;
(ii) Augmentation of the purchasing power of families whose
incomes had been reduced as a result of the crisis; and
(iii) Support for project implementation, technical
assistance and studies. The bulk of the credit/grant ($40
million equivalent) went to support the first component.
Citation
“Mohan, P.C.. 2006. Malawi - The Emergency Drought Recovery Project. Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs; No. 129. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/ea7e52ce-98e6-5d80-9064-d4ae0fe67f64 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”