Rainfall Variation and Food Security in Malawi : A Panel Data Study with Valuable Insights from the Field

Abstract: This study addresses the question of how climate variability, in terms of seasonal rainfall variation, might affect food security in Malawi. It hypothesizes that seasonal rainfall variation could cause food insecurity and that the consequences of weather hazards possibly differ within the country. An additional aim of this study is therefore to map local resilience in Malawi to estimate the adaptation ability by analyzing two subsamples. The hypothesis is tested by using a two-way fixed effect regression analysis and panel data for 28 districts in Malawi covering the years 2000, 2004, 2010 and 2015. This study finds no statistically significant effect of seasonal rainfall variation on children’s health for the examined years.