Sustainability and governance of Malawi prisons food systems

Malawi’s prisons experience severe food insecurity and malnutrition, worsened by unsustainable farming, fuelwood dependence, and poor waste management. This study evaluates the sustainability and governance of Malawi’s prison food systems using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Findings reveal that heavy fuelwood dependence drives deforestation, waste disposal is inadequate, and intensive farming degrades soil despite localized composting initiatives reliance. Existing government policy frameworks lack explicit sustainable farming guidelines, and Environmental Impact Assessments are not integrated into decision-making. Based on these findings, modernizing legislative frameworks, expanding renewable energy, and institutionalizing EIAs are critical to establishing sustainable prison food systems.