In Malawi, small farms contribute towards resilience of the food systems in many ways:
1. Village / local / scavenging chickens are generally kept by smallholder farmers (small farms), most of them with less than a hectare of land; and yet they supply village chickens to town and city markets, plus supplying directly to consumers throughout
the country. In addition to the fact that this enterprise enables farmers to get income for their livelihood from the chicken sales; the small farms make a huge contribution towards resilience of food system and this will continue for many years to come since
currently, big farms are not much involved in animal protein supply to rural areas. Again, small farmers help to reduce the magnitude of malnutrition among children under five of age, with the majority of rural communities relying on animal protein from village
chickens.
2. Small farms in Malawi are also involved in food crop production. Apart from the market (Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation), provided by Government for staple food crop, maize, most of the maize and other food crops that are cultivated
by small farms are sold to consumers and traders through specific markets, generally along the main roads that connect the three regions of the country. These markets have designated days, every week and they operate throughout the year, but the volume of
the produce sold is high immediately post-harvest. Small farms also supply vegetables, fruits and livestock to these markets. The markets act as ‘buffet’ markets, where consumers / traders can get any food, be it crop or livestock.