Malawi may be topping African charts in fertiliser consumption, but the country remains a nation of short people, a new continental report has revealed—reminding policymakers that tall maize alone does not make tall children.
Symbollic fertilizer for Affordable Inputs Program at Pilimiti in Zomba-(c) Abel Ikiloni, Mana
The Africa Food Systems Report (AFSR 2025), launched this week at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Dakar, Senegal, notes that despite years of pumping billions into fertiliser subsidy programmes, Malawi continues to struggle with some of the highest child stunting rates in Africa.
“Malawi is among the top five fertiliser-consuming countries in Africa, but stunting rates remain high,” the report states. “This shows the disconnect between agricultural inputs and child health.”
The irony is striking: government subsidies have helped produce towering fields of maize, but children are still being raised on narrow, carbohydrate-heavy diets that starve them of the nutrients needed for growth.
Nutrition experts say the fertiliser focus has created the illusion of food security—bumper harvests of nsima—but not the reality of a healthy, well-nourished generation. What is missing, they argue, is investment in diet diversification, irrigation, rural infrastructure, and market systems that can deliver fruits, vegetables, and proteins to every Malawian plate.
The report situates Malawi’s struggles in a broader African crisis. In 2024 alone, 307 million Africans were undernourished, while two-thirds of the continent’s population cannot afford a healthy diet. By 2030, nearly 60 percent of the world’s chronically undernourished people will live in Africa, according to UN projections.
For Malawi, the message is blunt: fertiliser might make crops tall, but without a broader rethink of food and nutrition policy, its children will remain stunted, and the dream of a healthy, thriving generation will remain out of reach.
