Mwapata urges social protection increase

Mwapata Institute has urged the government to increase the scale and scope of its social protection programmes, but some analysts have cautioned that the move could put pressure on the national budget.

The recommendation follows three separate studies the local agricultural think-tank conducted to determine the efficiency of social protection programmes such as social cash transfers, public works and farm input subsidies.

Presenting the findings in Lilongwe yesterday, Malawi Agricultural Policy Advancement and Transformation Agenda (Mwapata) Institute research fellow Anderson Gondwe said most of the social protection programmes do not achieve their intended targets because the amounts disbursed are too low and are implemented over a short period.

He said: “To resolve this, the government will have to increase the scope and duration of the social protection programmes.

“The programmes should also be adjusted to mitigate the rising cost of agricultural inputs which negatively affect household food security status and resilience capacity.”

Gondwe urged the government to focus its programmes on mitigating climate and weather-related shocks through continued investment in the adoption and promotion of more sustainable farming and water management systems.

In the 2024/25 Budget Statement presented in Parliament in Lilongwe on Friday, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola Banda said government will increase the scope of its social protection programmes to help households that were affected by Cyclone Freddy in the Southern Region in mid-March last year.

He said government will increase the number of beneficiaries in the Social Cash Transfer Programme from 292 449 to 382 457 and the average transfer amount from K9 000 to K19 000 per month.

This means that the revision will push the cost of the programme from K31.58 billion to K87.2 billion.

Reacting to the developments in an interview yesterday, Mzuzu University agricultural economist Christopher Mbukwa commended the government for scaling up the programme.

He said complementing cash transfers with initiatives such as soft loans could help graduate the poor people from other programmes such as the Affordable Inputs Programme.

Said Mbukwa: “Social Cash Transfer Programme is one surest way of targeting those in the lowest income bracket and pulling them out within a short period.

“Studies have shown how lives have changed with such cash transfers support.”

In a separate interview, economic analyst Bond Mtembezeka said government’s decision was justified because some people had slipped into poverty following the 44 percent kwacha devaluation in November last year.

He, however, said the government can improve the programme by adding production outputs to the social protection packages.

Responding to the concerns about the pressures the adjustment could place on fiscal space, Mwapata Institute research director Levison Chiwaula said government cannot abandon the ultra-poor households because they have no savings to fall back on.

He urged the government to focus on expanding its revenue base to ensure that resources are available for the expansion of social protection programmes.