Low-income households face growing pressure to put food on the table as maize prices rose by seven percent in October 2026, at the start of the lean season.
In its latest Malawi Maize Market Report, the International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) says the national average retail price rose from K1 001 per kilogramme in the last week of September to K1 072 per kg in the last week of October. Prices rose in all monitored markets.
The increase comes as many households are exhausting their food stocks and increasingly relying on markets to meet daily needs.
For families surviving on irregular incomes and casual labour, even a modest rise can mean buying less food or sacrificing other essentials.
Ifpri says maize prices exceeded government’s K900/kg minimum farmgate price in all monitored markets, except five of the six markets in the Northern Region. This suggests most farmers in the North who sold maize in October probably did so below the minimum price.
Agriculture extension specialist Leonard Chimwaza attributed the rise to reduced supply against growing demand for both human and animal consumption.
He warned that prices could rise further as the lean season deepens and households depend more on markets. Delays in food assistance could worsen the situation.
“The anticipated El Niño could also result in low maize yields due to water stress, particularly in areas already vulnerable to food shortages,” he said.
“We need to intensify irrigation farming to supplement production from the main rainy season, diversify crop and livestock production, and ensure prudent management of the strategic grain reserve.”
Centre for Social Concern economic governance programme officer Agnes Nyirongo said the increase is a growing burden on low-income households.
“For rural households that depend on casual labour [ganyu], they may be forced to reduce the quantity of food they consume and compromise dietary diversity because their unpredictable income now buys a smaller quantity of maize than previously,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) says preparations are underway to ensure adequate maize stocks and assistance for vulnerable households during the 2026/27 lean season, which runs from October to March.
Dodma spokesperson Lucy Bandazi said the preparedness plan requires 440 000 metric tonnes of maize.
“Procurement and replenishment of the strategic grain reserve are underway, showing commitment to food security,” she said.
However, Bandazi said the wider El Niño response faces a funding deficit of K324 billion, a shortfall of 72.32 percent.
She said the deficit covers the full response, not just dry spells. Although final allocations were still being assessed, Dodma had put in place contingency measures, including cash transfers and alternative food distribution.
The World Food Programme (WFP), in its August 2026 Malawi Country Brief, said it would provide food assistance to 600 000 people in four districts in the Southern Region during the lean season, but faces a funding deficit of K29.9 billion.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) and Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee project that 2.6 million people—14 percent of the analysed population—will face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) levels of acute food insecurity between October 2026 and March 2027.
Those households are expected to struggle to meet minimum food requirements as stocks decline and purchasing power weakens.
