Assessing the post-harvest constraints in smallholders’ groundnut production: A Survey in central Malawi

Abstract

An in-depth scoping survey was conducted on 248 smallholder farmers producing groundnut in Malawi to delineate the constraints in production, especially on-farm post-harvest operations, while revealing various aspects in the status of production and consumption practices. The insightful outcomes included the farmers’ perception of the post-harvest operations as highly labor demanding, being the major obstacle to production expansion for the lucrative and nutritious crop. In particular, shelling, lifting, and stripping were the top three processes of remarkable labor intensity. The respondents expressed the intention for scale-up as long as the labor constraints were mitigated, with expected welfare gain through increased income, improved nutrition, and reduced aflatoxin contamination, as well as mitigated drudgery for women.