Agriculture is the backbone of Malawi's economy, contributing about 30 percent to total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounting for about 85 percent of employment and 80 percent of foreign exchange earnings (60 percent of which come from tobacco alone), but it largely remains subsistence farming plagued by low productivity and high vulnerability. Agriculture development and food security are amongst the key priorities of the Government of Malawi (GoM) to achieve sustainable economic growth and poverty alleviation. Increased agricultural productivity, diversification and commercialization constitute a key focus area of the overarching national development framework, the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) 2006-2011, followed by MGDS II 2011-2016. In 2010, this priority was translated into an Agricultural Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp), aligned with the CAADP pillars and the MGDS. This Agricultural Public Expenditure Review (AgPER), carried out at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS), intends to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of future public spending in the sector, and thus contribute to ASWAp successful implementation. It was financed by the program 'strengthening national comprehensive agricultural public expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa', funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the CAADP Multi-Donor Trust Fund and implemented by the World Bank.