Scaling Agricultural Innovations: Pigeonpea in Malawi

Successful scaling of agricultural development strategies is fundamental to increased production and yields, yet targeting efforts frequently fail to fully consider the underlying biophysical drivers of agricultural marginality, particularly at fine spatial resolutions. We present a heuristic for intelligent targeting, utilizing remotely sensed information to identify the intersection between marginal conditions for performance of a staple crop and the optimal niche for technologies that improve crop performance. Here, we explore the geographic potential of maize diversification with pigeonpea, a crop with soil productivity enhancing properties. Overall, 79 percent of agricultural land in Malawi exhibits climate conditions optimal for pigeonpea cultivation and, in total, approximately 51 percent of Malawian maize-based farming is expected to receive some benefit from pigeonpea integration, with 9 percent receiving predictable and substantial benefits. These findings illustrate the geographic scaling potential of pigeonpea in Malawi and provide direction for informed pigeonpea deployment and market development across the country.