Key Trends from the 2004 country brief

• Since the mid-1980s, agricultural research investments have declined in real prices (adjusted for inflation) in part as a result of high inflation rates in Malawi.
• Despite a higher decline in resources in the 1990s relative to other organizations, the Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS) remains the primary agricultural research agency in Malawi; it accounted for nearly half the country’s agricultural research spending and researcher numbers in 2001.
• About half of the research positions at DARS were vacant as of early 2003. Until recently, low salary levels and limited promotional opportunities have hindered retention of well-qualified staff, and attrition has also resulted from deaths from AIDS and other causes. A 1990s recruitment freeze further exacerbated this situation.
• Tobacco and tea research are conducted by the nonprofit sector, which accounted for a 33-percent share of total agricultural research spending in 2001.

Malawi