Only 32 such packs arrived in Mr Zimba's village last year, for a population of about 900.

ECONOMIST: No title

Mr Zimba frets that he cannot afford enough seeds or fertiliser to make full use of his land.

ECONOMIST: No title

Some people in Mr Zimba's position move to the city, find jobs, and save to start a small business.

ECONOMIST: No title

Take Nashon Zimba, a 25-year-old peasant who grows maize, beans and tobacco on 1.8 hectares (4.5 acres) in Chiponde, a small village in Kasungu district, north-west of Lilongwe.

ECONOMIST: No title

Mr Zimba senses that there is little future in farming.

ECONOMIST: No title

Mr Zimba is poor even by Malawian standards.

ECONOMIST: No title

Mr Zimba did not receive one.

ECONOMIST: No title