Here's a comprehensive summary of the article about Malawi's food crisis:
Malawi, one of the world's least developed nations, faces chronic food crises, with over half its 16 million people living below the poverty line, and UNICEF warning in 2023 that over 500,000 children were at risk of malnutrition. The crisis's roots trace back to severe droughts in the early 1990s and the corrupt practices of ADMARC, a government agency that controlled agriculture and eliminated crucial fertilizer subsidies by 1989. Since 1990, Malawi has seen a dramatic increase in weather-related disasters like droughts and floods, severely impacting its agriculture-dependent economy and making farmers highly vulnerable.
Major famines have struck repeatedly, including in 2002, which caused an estimated 300 to 3,000 deaths and prompted a national "State of Disaster," and again in 2005, when President Bingu wa Mutharika declared another national disaster. Subsequent food shortages occurred in 2012 and 2015, further aggravated by extreme weather and economic factors. Today, Malawi is actively implementing various programs aimed at addressing climate instability, alleviating poverty, and diversifying its economy and agriculture to foster long-term resilience.