As in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of poor smallholders in Malawi are left out of the agricultural extension and credit systems. These households, characterized by landholdings of less than 1 hectare and very low crop yields, are unable to grow enough food to feed themselves even though they focus much effort on producing food crops, especially maize. It has been argued that most of these farmers are too poor and cash-strapped to be able to benefit from any kind of access to credit and that, even if they received adequate supplies of the right in- puts, their land constraints are so severe that any.
