in regard to food availability in the market. Food security, on the other hand, refers to the
household's ability to access and use food. To food security is an income issue, not a
production issue.

 A second distinction in defining food security relates to whether the food security problem
 is transitory or chronic. Transitory food insecurity usually refers to short-term food supply
 problems caused by shocks to the food production system. Chronic food insecurity, on the other
 hand, refers to long-term lack of adequate income or assets at the household level to produce or
 buy adequate food for the household.

 1.2.2 Elements of Food Security

 Current economic literature on food security points out three basic elements needed to
 assure food security within a population. The first element is the existence in the country of a
 viable marketplace, for both food and non-food items, linked to the world economy. Usually this
 marketplace is assumed to be in place. In Malawi, assumptions about the marketplace need to be
 fully examined.

 The second element concerns the economic situation at the household level. This element
 relates to the question of poverty and the ability of the household to gow or purchase appropriate
 food required to satisfy the household's nutritional needs. Household income, or income
 equivalent from other household resources, is central to the analysis and solution of the food
 security problem. .

 The third element required for food security is increasing the productivity of the economy.
Increased productivity in the economy ultimately solves household income issues. To achieve
sustained productivity growth in the Malawian economy will require a structural transformation
from an economy that is to a large extent based on subsistence-oriented, household-level
production to an integrated economy based on specialization and exchange. For many Malawians,
specialization and exchange will entail deriving their livelihood from off-farm sources. Some of
this shift has taken place in the estate sector but it still remains a distant prospect for much of the
smallholder sector.

 In the interim, specific measures need to be taken to address the income issues of the
chronically malnourished household. It is critical that these measures not hinder the long-term
objectives of increased productivity in the economy and free function of the marketplace. Ideally,
poverty alleviation measures and safety nets should enhance and expand these long term
objectives.

 The dynamics of these three elements a viable marketplace, growth of a productive
economy, and fostering of hncphnld income form a market-oriented paradigm that can be used
to analyze and evaluate specific food security programs and policies in Malawi. This paradigm
is neither new nor revolutionary. It is the result of over twenty years of economic research and