Data on income levels are less reliable for the estate sector than for the smallholder
 sector. The figures reported, however, suggest that estate income levels may be similar to those
 for rural smallholders. Whereas some tenant farmers may do very well, others have difficulty
 making enough income to feed their family These are most likely to work on small estates.
 Where tenants have access to land fo subsistence farming, this land provides an important
 additional source incon). What data existindicate that this access to land is more likely to
 occur on larger estates, and therefore is unlikely to benefit poorer estate tenants. The situation
 for poor tenants may have improved somewhat with the introduction of the intermediate buyer
 system, which has provided competition for the estates as tobacco outlets. This could force estates
 to offer better terms to their tenants.

 Permanent estate workers are frequently paid less than other wage earners. Where this
 is the case, they are likely to suffer from food insecurity.

 Children of estate tenants and workers show high levels of malnutrition. Data from 1995
 showed that estate children had slightly higher levels of stunting than average, and almost 50
 percent higher rates of wasting. These high levels of child malnutrition are a concern. These may
 result from poor environmental conditions and lack of health services, combined with low
 household income. High labor demands on tenant spouses may also negatively affect child care.

 2.1.3 The Urban Poor

 Major cities in Malawi have the lowest prevalence of poverty, and an urban honmehnld is
 half as likely as a rural household to be poor. The main exception to this is Lilongwe, where
 there is twice the number of very poor households as in any other Malawian city. This large
 number of poor households is reflected in higher rates of malnutrition in Lilongwe than in other
 urban areas.

 Studies of low income urban households carried out between 1989 and 1991 show a high
 percentage of income spent on food and income levels not much above those in the smallholder
* sector (Roe 1992, Chilowa and Shively 1989). It is difficult, however, to quantify what overall
percentage of urban households this would represent.
 I
 There is some evidence that low income urban households may have stronger links with
 the rural economy than have been previously acknowledged, and that they may therefore, be
 vulnerable to drought. As with rural households, however, their main problem is simply lack of
 resources.

 2.1.4 Current Trends

 The discussion above focuses on the characteristics of poverty in Malawi in the late 1980s
 and early 1990s. The situation, however, is not static. Policy changes in the early 1990s are