Malawi

Incorporating native plants could revitalize the agriculture, nutrition and economy of Malawi. Photo: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/cimmyt/7290577556/in/photostream/”>CIMMYT (Flickr)</a>

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Value Chains

The problem with Malawi's state-subsidized maize surplus: Nutrition

Malawi is fixated on maize, but Kristof and Stacia Nordin aim to change that. They say native crops would bring variety and abundance to the monotonous Malawian diet.

A new interactive map shows relative potential for wealth creation through cash transfers. Image: <a href="http://newamericafoundation.github.com/gssp/maps/payment.html#">New America Foundation</a>

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New map shows where cash transfers work - and where they don’t

Moving money is easier in some places than in others. This map shows where cash transfers work best as an antipoverty tool.

William's windmill was built using pictures and diagrams. Photo: whiteafrican<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/whiteafrican/622366993/sizes/m/in/photostream/"> (Flicker)</a>

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How a Malawi teen used junk to put wind to work

Technology doesn’t always come from experts with expensive equipment. William Kamkwamba’s junkyard windmill proves it.

Village savings and loan schemes help the poor save in remote communities like this one in Malawi. Photo: Erik Mandell for MercyCorps

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New projects help the poor save as well as borrow

The world's poorest have long struggled to borrow. Now, an alternative microfinance model is also making it easier for poor people to save.

Medic Mobile works with the simplest of cell phones to help provide health care to those far away from their nearest hospital. Photo: Fabiola Coupet/Mercy Corps.

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Medic Mobile turns cell phones into lifelines

In rural communities around the world, the virtual doctor is in.

Women farmers in Africa produce over 60 percent of all food crops. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cimmyt/5352940723/in/photostream/">CIMMYT (flickr)</a>

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In Africa, female scientists should power female farmers, group says

Women comprise 43 percent of the world’s farmers. In Africa, it’s 80 percent. Women plant, harvest, process and sell their crops, but men continue to dominate agricultural science and research. This may be about to change.

Much needed food aid being distributed in Sukkur, Pakistan. Photo: <a href= "http://www.flickr.com/photos/14214150@N02/4973650367/"> Rob Holden, UK Department for International Development (Flickr)</a>

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The politics of hunger: Good governance effective at fighting malnutrition

Malnutrition, which prevents children from reaching their physical and intellectual potential, is falling. The most significant cause? It's becoming a politically important issue in its own right.

While corn is not native to Malawi, it has become the country's staple crop. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nglklm/5081662199/">Nathan Laurell (flickr)</a>

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The Successes (and Failures) of Seed Subsidies in Malawi

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life; if you give a family seeds, do you feed them forever?

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'Look more "poor" for the camera!'

How many times have you seen a picture of a rural African farmer dressed in his Sunday best? Probably not very many.

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African Farmers See Incomes Grow After Switching to Soy

Malawi's economy has deep roots in the small family farms that pepper its landscape. But farmers often can't earn enough from cash crops like tobacco, sugarcane, peanuts and tea.