income generating activities have, in general, very poor returns. Table C2 shows the numbers
of farm households by area of land cultivated by ADD.

 Poor smallholders tend to have few assets, to use lower levels of purchased inputs than the
average and, unsurprisingly, have low access to credit. They grow relatively less hybrid maize
and more local maize than average, but in total they plant a higher percentage of their land to
maize than better-off farmers, who grow more high value crops. They own relatively little
livestock.

 Virtually all poor households have difficulty meeting their food requirements from own
production. On average they produce about 64 percent of their food requirements and the poorest
may produce less than 40 percent of their requirements. The land available to them for cultivation
is insufficient to produce enough local maize for their needs, they cannot afford to purchase the
inputs necessary to put all their land under hybrid maize, and they grow virtually no cash crops.
Households rely on off-farm employment, and in particular ganyu (casual agricultural labour) to
provide the rest of their food needs, but many households have to reduce their consumption levels
in the pre-harvest period.

 Table C2. Distribution of Households by Cultivated Area and ADD, 1995

 ADD <0.5 Ha 0.5-1.0 Ha 1.0-2.0 Ha > 2.0 Ha Total

 Karonga 21977 14028 9352 1403 46760

 Mzuzu 48461 44615 41538 19231 153844
 Kasungu 30987 69720 105871 51644 258221

 Salima 69748 44520 25228 8904 148399

 Lilongwe 125775 145428 94332 27513 393048

 Machinga 167931 147452 81918 12288 409589
 Blantyre 288720 128850 50108 9544 477223

 Shire Valley 69292 36767 26868 8485 141413

 Total 822891 631380 435215 139012 2028497


Source: World Bank, 1995 and FEWS


Female-headed households face particular problems.


They face considerable labour


constraints in off-farm labour supply, in part due to their higher dependency ratios, but also
because of the considerable time spent in domestic activities such as collecting water and wood
and pounding maize. Off-farm income is an even smaller share of total income for these