Malawi
National Food Systems Steering Committee, with the National Technical Committee
Malawi governs food systems transformation through a layered structure that runs from a national convener in Cabinet, through a steering committee and a multistakeholder technical committee, down to the districts. The agriculture minister convenes it, and the National Planning Commission brings cross-sectoral reach and coordinates its work. This institutional set up can be classed as a dual participatory mechanism.
National Food Systems Steering Committee
Institutional set-up and structure. Malawi's food systems agenda began after the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, when the Minister of Agriculture was named national convener. The work initially took a sectoral approach, and other sectors found it hard to engage. To strengthen cross-sectoral convening, the National Planning Commission was brought in to work alongside the Minister. The Commission is a quasi-independent agency established under the National Planning Commission Act 2017, with oversight of Malawi's long-term development agenda. It serves as secretariat, supports administrative and policy matters, and ensures information flows across the structure. The Steering Committee sits directly below the convener. It brings together principal secretaries and directors from government ministries, departments and agencies with development partners at country head or deputy level. Its members work to terms of reference.
Mandate and decision-making power. Food systems transformation is treated as a catalytic intervention within Malawi's national development agenda. The Steering Committee provides strategic, policy, programmatic and structural direction for that transformation and takes decisions on food systems matters. It also serves as a space for accountability, where members check what sectors are doing individually and jointly, identify gaps, and make commitments to close them. It created the sub-technical committees and approved their terms of reference. Government owns the agenda and makes the decisions. Development partners support it but do not share decision-making power equally with ministries. The Steering Committee reports to the convener, who, as a Cabinet minister, reports progress to Cabinet.
The Steering Committee is tasked with the following roles (building blocks):
Agenda setting: deciding on goals and strategic priorities
Policy formulation and decision making: deciding and enacting them
Implementation: coordinating policy and programme delivery
Monitoring and evaluation: tracking progress, evaluating and reporting
Who is involved
Government: principal secretaries and directors from agriculture, health, trade, transport, gender, energy and other relevant ministries, departments and agencies, with the Director General of the National Planning Commission
Development partners: United Nations and bilateral agencies, represented at country head or deputy level
How it works in practice
Meets quarterly, with additional meetings where a decision is needed
The agriculture ministry and the National Planning Commission draft agendas and circulate them to members in advance for input
There is no formal quorum; decisions are taken once an issue has been substantially discussed and a clear direction agreed
Meeting costs are shared between government and development partners
Minutes and progress updates are circulated promptly
National Food Systems Technical Committee
Institutional set-up and structure. The Technical Committee sits below the Steering Committee. It brings together technical staff from government, non-governmental and international organisations, research and academic institutions, capacity-building institutions, the private sector, the media and civil society. It works through five sub-technical committees: policy and programmes; research, monitoring and evaluation; capacity building; resource mobilisation; and advocacy and communication. Each sub-committee has a chair, a secretary and terms of reference. Government must lead or co-lead every sub-committee, a requirement adopted so the structures can be sustained if partners withdraw. The structure also extends to local government. Three of Malawi's 27 districts have set up multisectoral food systems committees, which include district sectors, development partners supporting district programmes and the media.
Mandate and decision-making power. The Technical Committee sets the priority agenda for food systems programming. It works through goals, objectives, pathways and strategies, and develops frameworks for monitoring and evaluation and for capacity development. The sub-committees take on specific tasks within this agenda:
Policy and programmes: identifies the policy and programme frameworks to be put in place or revised
Research, monitoring and evaluation: guides how food systems programmes are monitored, evaluated and researched
Capacity building: develops a national capacity development programme to address gaps among food system actors
Resource mobilisation: identifies resource constraints and how to mobilise resources
Advocacy and communication: sets the advocacy agenda, including on the right to food, programme design, policy and law
The Technical Committee also provides technical support to the district committees on programme design, research, and monitoring and evaluation. It is advisory. Matters needing direction go up to the Steering Committee, and reporting flows from the districts through the sub-committees and the Technical Committee to the Steering Committee.
These roles translate into the following building blocks:
Agenda setting: advocacy and dialogue
Policy formulation and decision making: providing technical advice; coordinating policy development; developing policies for consideration by the relevant authorities
Implementation: coordinating policy and programme delivery; coordinating financial resources and the budget
Monitoring and evaluation: tracking progress, evaluating and reporting
Who is involved
Government: technical staff from ministries, departments and agencies, with the National Planning Commission's food systems focal person coordinating the committee's work
Development partners: United Nations agencies, bilateral agencies and international organisations, at technical level
Private sector: companies and financial institutions, including banks, taking part in the sub-committees according to their area of work
Academia and research institutions: leading work in their areas of focus, such as research and monitoring
Civil society and media: with civil society providing a link between the committees and the public
Communities: involved through the district committees
How it works in practice
Meets every two months over one and a half to two days; the sub-committees meet first and then reconvene together to share progress and assign tasks
Sub-committees develop annual work plans, can meet between official meetings, and have made joint field visits
The National Planning Commission relays information between the Steering Committee and the sub-committees and follows up on requests
A national programme of action is being consolidated, setting out priority policy, research, capacity, advocacy and resource issues
The monitoring and evaluation framework includes indicators on how the governance structures operate, alongside programme indicators
Conflicts of interest are managed through the diversity and openness of membership rather than a formal policy; for example, members worked to stop individual organisations steering the food systems investment plan towards their own programmes
Evidence base: key informant interviews, 2026. Last updated: September 2026.
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