Press and News CIAT renews historic host-country agreement with Malawi, strengthening 30-year partnership for food systems transformation

by Bonney Tunya

onSeptember 15, 2025

LILONGWE, MALAWI 15th Sept. 2025 – The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), on behalf of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, has signed a landmark Host-Country Agreement with the Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, solidifying a decades-long partnership dedicated to strengthening the nation's agricultural resilience and food security.

This agreement updates the initial agreement signed in 1987 and provides a better framework for the Alliance to continue its impactful research and development activities within Malawi, ensuring the continuation of long-term collaboration on transforming food systems and landscapes to better nourish people, sustain the planet, and drive prosperity in the face of a climate crisis.

"The signing of this agreement is a testament to the strong and trusted relationship between Malawi and the Alliance," said David Slane, Country Representative for the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in Malawi."It paves the way for deeper collaboration, allowing us to scale our research innovations to benefit more Malawian farmers, particularly in building resilience against climate change and improving nutrition."

Malawi

Projects and flagship initiatives in Malawi

Reflecting the impact of this partnership, The Alliance is proud to highlight the following milestone of its work in Malawi:

The roll-out of the Business Acceleration for Youth Project, a four-year, innovative initiative project to strengthen the resilience of youth and women-led business startups in Malawi’s southern region including the districts of Mangochi, Balaka, Machinga, Zomba, Chiradzulu, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Mulanje and Thyolo, through the delivery of business incubation services creating growth-orientated, sustainable firms able to secure and effectively utilize investment.
The Alliance has been a key research partner in Malawi since the 1980s. Through its Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) program, it has worked closely with the Malawian government for over 30 years to strengthen the entire bean value chain—from breeding high-yielding, climate-smart varieties to improving production and promoting consumption.
Mixed Sustainable Intensification of Mixed Farming Systems, a research initiative led by CGIAR which supports equitable, transformative pathways for improved livelihoods in mixed farming systems through sustainable intensification tailored to specific agroecological zones and socioeconomic contexts.

The collaboration between the Alliance and the Government of Malawi will continue to focus on critical areas such as climate-smart agriculture, biodiversity conservation, agri-entrenreneurship and developing sustainable food systems that can withstand future challenges.

About the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) deliver research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis.