asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, in the light of the Agricultural Input Subsidy Programme in Malawi, they will consider offering assistance for similar initiatives in other sub-Saharan African states. [HL3092]

The Department for International Development (DfID) supports a programme with the World Bank under the African Union's (AU) Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) that is looking at ways to get both fertilizer and maize markets in Africa working more efficiently. The programme will promote the lessons in one country, such as Malawi's experience with support to its fertilizer markets, more widely in the region. DfID also provides core-funding support to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). AGRA's programme includes a $160 million soils health initiative.

DfID support to the agricultural sector in Malawi was agreed within the context of the country programme, managed by our office in Lilongwe and agreed with the Government of Malawi. Whether this experience is replicated in other country programmes would depend on the strategic priorities of the Government and the DfID programme in question.