Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37819904›Full record

ArticlePLOS global public health2023

The politics of agricultural policy and nutrition: A case study of Malawi's Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP).

Helen Walls, Deborah Johnston, Mirriam Matita, Tayamika Kamwanja, Richard Smith, Simeon Nanama

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLOS global public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Helen WallsDepartment of Global Heath and Development, Faculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0538-3859
Deborah JohnstonDepartment of Economics, SOAS University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Mirriam MatitaDepartment of Economics, University of Malawi, Zomba, Malawi.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6910-114X
Tayamika KamwanjaDepartment of Economics, University of Malawi, Zomba, Malawi.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1020-6235
Richard SmithCollege of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3837-6559
Simeon NanamaUnited Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), Abuja, Nigeria.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBUniversity of Exeter · GBUniversity of Leicester · GBUniversity of London · GBUniversity of Malawi · MW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The concept of food and nutrition policy has broadened from simply being an aspect of health policy, to policy interventions from across a wide range of sectors, but still with potentially important impact on nutritional outcomes. This wider and more complex conceptualisation involves policy with multiple objectives and stakeholder influences. Thus, it becomes particularly important to understand the dynamics of these policy processes, including policy design and implementation. To add to this literature, we apply the Kaleidoscope Model for understanding policy change in developing country contexts to the case-study of an agricultural input subsidy (AIS) programme in Malawi, the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), exploring the dynamics of the FISP policy process including nutritional impact. Over a three-month period between 2017 and 2019 we conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders at national and district levels, and focus groups with people from rural districts in Malawi. We also undertook a review of literature relating to the political economy of the FISP. We analysed the data thematically, as per the domains of the Kaleidoscope Model. The analysis across the FISP policy process including policy design and implementation highlights how stakeholders' ideas, interests and influence have shaped the evolution of FISP policy including constraints to policy improvement-and the nutritional impacts of this. This approach extends the literature on the tensions, contradictions and challenges in food and nutrition policy by examining the reasons that these occur in Malawi with the FISP. We also add to the political science and policy analysis literature on policy implementation, extending the concept of veto players to include those targeted by the policy. The findings are important for consideration by policymakers and other stakeholders seeking to address malnutrition in rural, food-insecure populations in Malawi and other low-income settings.

Identifiers

PMID37819904
PMCPMC10566744
OpenAlexW4387541410

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.