Missed opportunity to protect the Gains of Plent from the Year Matthias Kafunda Pouicy Leap Ar Oxrant ly Matawt et out a clear agenda to inerwase allocations for the purchase of food! and for investments fo improve the level of resilience in the agricultural sector due to the humanitarian impact ofthe decline in agricultural production, I: last year's budget (2016/17), government In the development budget, irrigation was, prioritized as 9 signifi resilience and development partners pumped in significant additional resources for the country to be able to meet the overall food deficit requirement. sat measure to improve Against the odds, government to some extent managed to strike a balance between the necessity to effectively manage a humanitarian response to the food crisis while continuing ‘with the efforts to restore Fiseal balances and to control inflation Now at the resource allocation and approval for the financial year 2017/2018, the country still remains susceptible to adverse weather conditions even though we are at a period of plenty. It is predicated that the adverse effects of climate change are likely to continue into the future with the potential to cause severe cnvironmental, economic and social impacts. While that isthe ease yet budgetary allocations to key sectors that could help build resilience are shockingly inadequate in the 2017/2018 budget. The 2017/2018 budget has not been able to translate this momentum “of the year of plenty into sustainable programs and investments that can reduce long-term vulnerabilities as it thas not invested enough in measures that have potential to improve people's resilience instance, winter cropping (irrigation) seems rot to be the policy priority in this vear budget as it was in the previous one, Winter cropping (irrigation) was allocated MK¢ billion in 2016/17 budget and has a zero-allocation in the 2017/2018 government expenditure plan, The usual irrigation program has been given 4 limited share of the most districts council's budgets. For instance in Mulanje District, one of the harcest hit districts in the 2016/2017 growing season, irrigation has been given a ‘meager 12 percent of the total council's budget (MIK8 million ofa total budgetof MK7.Obillion); for Chikwawa only 16 percent MK87million of 9 total budget of MKS.Sbillion); Dedza eight percent (MK7.5million of a total budget of MK9.0, billion); Balaka just 13 percent (ME6.2million of total budget of MK4. billion) a district where 90 percent of population was food insecure in the just ended food response, Furthermore, the 2017/2018 budget has not invested enough in livelihoods diversification policy strategies and programs, even when there has been a lot of talk around the country’s vulnerabil ¥y stemming from its heavy reliance fon rainfed agriculture. Budget allocations towards alternative livelihoods such as fisheries make a dismal share for most of the councils? budgets. Kasungu, for instance, has been allocated a mere six percent of the total eouneil’s budget towards fisheries (MK4S5million of a total budget of MK64 billion); Chikwawa six percent (MK3.Smillion of a total budget of MKS 4 billion), Zomba seven percent (MK7.6million of a total budget of MK66 billion) and most districts are inthis precarious situation, What is clear from the 2017/2018 is that while there is a lot of talk around resilience building, Irrigation system and while national policy frameworks espouse the importance of resilience building and cation, but the makers tend to still reflect emexgency response and relief orientations, The allocations of public Livelihoods diversi decision resources mechanisms are for disaster response and postdisaster management, with little capacity to undertake risk mitigation measures. The paradigm shift to disaster resilience building is clearly diffe ‘who have been used to relief mode of operation. This likely explains the slow progress in building and/or livelihoods diversification strategies throughout evelopment policies and plans. t for decision makers mainstreaming resilience ‘The policy and decision-makers at all level of government need to establish norms for allocating budgets for resilience building and/ oF livelihoods diversification as part of ongoing evelopment planning, It entails mainstreaming resilience initiatives into short-, medium- and long-term budgetary instruments, point for integration is often a national, local or sectoral development planning framework. The entry