Malawi is overall food secure, except for the lower Shire region in the south where food security is moderate due to poor harvests since 2008. Approximately 33 percent of households have been affected by this crop failure (FEWSNET 2009). Malawi has also been impacted by global food price hikes. However, informal imports of maize flowing into southern Malawi from northern Mozambique have cushioned the domestic increase in prices.

In response to the crisis, the government banned maize exports except for remaining contract with Zimbabwe. The government also has stopped any private trading of Maize and has set a fixed price for the buying and selling of maize through the Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation. Agricultural input subsidies will also continue in the 2008-09 agricultural season (FAO GIEWS 2009).