Assessing Sustainable Intensification Options for Maize Across Diverse Farm Types in Central Malawi

Smallholder farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa are heterogeneous in resource endowment and livelihood objectives, posing challenges for effective agricultural interventions. This study characterises farm system diversity in Mtunthama Extension Planning Area, Kasungu District, Malawi, and evaluates the suitability of sustainable intensification innovations across farm types. Data were collected through focus group discussions and household surveys involving 43 farming households. Maize was the focus crop because it is the staple food crop of the whole of Malawi and the crop with which legumes are rotated or intercropped in the sustainable intensification options evaluated. Principal Component Analysis was used to construct a farm typology, while innovation suitability was assessed using a multi-criteria decision analysis framework. Four distinct farm types were identified: High-Resource-Endowed farms (HRE), Moderately resource-endowed farms with Diversified Cropping systems (MDV), Moderately resource-endowed farms with Mixed crop-livestock orientation (MCL), and Resource-Constrained Maize-dominated farms (RCM). The multi-criteria assessment revealed substantial variation in suitability across types. Conservation agriculture recorded the highest overall score (0.68), followed by intercropping (0.54), while strip cropping showed the lowest (0.25). MDV achieved the highest overall innovation score (0.66), whereas MCL and RCM showed limited uptake. These findings demonstrate that sustainable intensification effectiveness is shaped by resource endowment and trade-offs between productivity, income, and sustainability. The decoupling of maize yield and household income suggests intensification pathways are context-specific. The framework provides a useful approach for identifying suitable practice combinations for each farm type and for designing targeted interventions.