Impact of agricultural cooperative membership on household food security in Mchinji District, Malawi

Despite being an agrarian economy, food insecurity and malnutrition remain major challenges in Malawi. Progress towards food security has been undermined by problems such as environmental degradation, lack of mechanisation, improper land management, insufficient and untimely extension services, and limited landholding, leading to low productivity among smallholders. Agricultural cooperatives can improve productivity by making agricultural inputs, extension advice, and modern farming technologies more accessible. Additionally, cooperatives can enhance smallholders’ income opportunities through collective marketing of agricultural produce to preferred markets. While smallholder cooperatives often fall short of meeting performance expectations, empirical studies in some developing countries provide evidence supporting the view that cooperative membership can improve food security among smallholders. However, no such study has been conducted in Malawi. This study aims to understand the impact of cooperative membership on household food security in rural areas of Malawi’s Mchinji district. Representative samples of cooperative member and non-member households were selected using probability-based sampling techniques. Primary data needed to estimate the impact of cooperative membership on household food security were collected using a structured questionnaire administered in-person to 475 household respondents. The impact of cooperative membership on household food security was estimated using propensity score matching and two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression with instrumental variables. These methods were chosen for their ability to account for selection bias and the effects of other determinants of food security. The findings bridge a gap in cooperative-food security literature and suggest a number of targeted policy interventions to address food insecurity in rural Malawi. The results will also serve as a reference for future research.