Impact Of Agricultural Market Reforms On Smallholder Farmers In ...

Table 5.2 – Household characteristics by expenditure category
Expenditure category (quintile)
Poorest 2 nd 3 rd 4 th Richest Total
Average total annual
expenditures per capita (MK) 1,079 1,890 2,650 3,648 6,550 3,083
Average household Size 6 5 5 4 4 5
Average No. of children 3 3 2 2 1 2
Ethnic group: % of household heads that are
Chewa 36 37 34 37 26 34
Ngoni 9 7 14 13 8 10
Tumbuka 2 5 7 6 11 6
Tonga 1 1 1 1 2 1
Lomwe 24 23 11 23 19 20
Sena 1 2 1 2 5 2
Yawo 19 17 22 8 21 17
Other 8 8 10 10 8 9
Religious affiliation: % of household heads that are
Christian 73 73 76 87 72 76
Moslem 21 21 18 12 25 19
None 6 6 6 1 4 5
Source: IFPRI/APRU Malawi Smallholder Farmer Survey, 1998.
Table 5.3 – Percent of household heads member in a club or association by farm size*
Farm Size (quintile)
Smallest 2 nd 3 rd 4 th Largest Total
Membership in a club 11 15 21 23 34 20
Membership in a
coop./association 3 1 5 9 11 5
*The average farm size in the five groups is 0.5, 0.9, 1.3, 1.8, and 3.0 ha respectively.
Source: IFPRI/APRU Malawi Smallholder Farmer Survey, 1998.
Table 5.4 – Socio-economic characteristics of the household head
Expenditure category (quintile)
Household head characteristics Poorest 2 nd 3 rd 4 th Richest Total
Average Age 44 45 41 39 40 42
Average No. of years in farming 20 22 18 16 17 19
Percent that are:
Female 45 39 25 25 23 34
Illiterate (cannot read & write) 55 47 38 36 41 44
Have had no formal education 44 39 24 22 25 31
Have had some or completed primary education 54 56 67 72 66 63
Have had some or completed JCE 2 5 1 3 7 4
Have had some or completed MSCE 0 0 7 3 10 3
Whose primary activity is farming 98 96 93 93 84 93
Whose primary activity is in services 0 2 3 3 13 4
Source: IFPRI/APRU Malawi Smallholder Farmer Survey, 1998.
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