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The African Economic Research Consortium’s (AERC) Collaborative Masters in Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMAAE) programme recently co-hosted the Malawi thesis dissemination workshop with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) on 26 August 2024. 

The one-day workshop, whose theme was “Agricultural Innovations for Rural Development in Malawi” was held at the Golden Peacock, Hotel, Lilongwe. It was graced by Prof. Agnes Mwangwela, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, LUANAR and attended by other dignitaries including Prof. Kennedy Machira, the outgoing Head of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics who is also the Chairman of the CMAAE Academic Advisory Board (AAB); Dr. Horace Phiri, the Head of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, LUANAR; Dr. Fydess Mkomba, the Deputy Head of Department; Dr. Benson Maonga, Director, Africa Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Policy Analysis (APA); and Dr. Paul Fatch, Head of the Extension Department, LUANAR, among others. 

Fifty stakeholders including smallholder farmers, agricultural extension personnel, academia and personnel from research institutions were in attendance. Fifteen graduates of the Collaborative Masters in Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMAAE), LUANAR, presented their results of thesis research. One of the presenters, Mr. Blessings Nyirongo, the first runners up in the 2021 Shared Facility for Specialization and Electives (SFSE) presented on the Effect of Farm Input Subsidy Program on Technical Efficiency, Productivity and Poverty among Maize-Legume Farmers in Malawi. His results demonstrated the need for intensification of extension training and visits, targeting farm input subsidies the ultra-poor households and widening access to agricultural credit.

The objective of such workshops is to share the results of the thesis research findings of the CMAAE graduates. They also provide policy options for policy makers in the agricultural and rural development sectors, thus impacting farmers and policymakers with recommendations from the survey works. The Collaborative Master’s Programme in Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMAAE) graduates are positively contributing to enhanced agricultural production through feedback thesis dissemination workshops that appropriately advise farmers on production.