Seeding self-sufficiency

Fertilizer feeds success in an African nation
Growing corn in the United States became more profitable and efficient during the second half of the 20th century, due to a combination of government subsidies and research that improved seeds and fertilizers.

Some African nations could produce the same gains if the U.S. and other prosperous countries exported that recipe for success.

Although huge swaths of Africa are often considered hopeless, the experience in Malawi, a small landlocked nation, offers hope -- thanks largely to Bingu wa Mutharika, an economist who was elected president in 2004.

President Mutharika helped wean Malawi from its dependence on emergency food shipments from abroad. He pursued a policy that enables the government to help farmers obtain fertilizer, so they can then grow food to feed themselves, their nation and other parts of southern Africa.

The transformation was reported in Sunday's New York Times. Reporter Celia W. Dugger wrote that Malawi had "hovered for years on the brink of famine." But, this year, Malawi "is selling more corn to the World Food Program of the United Nations than any other country in southern Africa."

How did Malawi relieve acute child hunger and become an exporter?

"Farmers explain Malawi's extraordinary turnaround -- one with broad implications for hunger-fighting methods across Africa -- with one word: fertilizer."

For 20 years, the World Bank, the United States and Britain pushed Malawi's government to eliminate subsidies paid to farmers for fertilizer -- even though most farmers could not otherwise afford to improve their soil and nourish their crops.

Last year, under President Mutharika, farmers received coupons for seed and the cost of fertilizer was subsidized. The policy shift -- combined with the fact that Malawi had plentiful rainfall -- made for a bountiful corn harvest.

"As long as I'm president, I don't want to be going to other capitals begging for food," Mutharika told The Times reporter.

Despite being lectured by the U.S. and other governments to embrace free-market policies, Mutharika emulated American and European farm policies, which include subsidies and money for research.

Farm subsidies are difficult to eliminate once they're no longer required to meet basic demands for food. But subsidies are often necessary and can prove effective.

The experience in Malawi suggests that African farmers, given the same tools that their American counterparts want and need, are capable of feeding their nations and reducing their reliance on handouts.