Second term

Malawi sent 150 metric tons of rice to Haiti following the earthquake in January 2010.
In addition to championing food security in Malawi, Mutharika promoted a similar approach for Africa. While Chairman of the African Union in 2010,[11] the President laid down a road map for Africa to achieve sustainability and food security.[12] He proposed a new partnership with other African nations, which he called the “African Food Basket”,[13] outlining a strategy incorporating subsidies to small farmers, especially women, improvements in irrigation, and improving agriculture and food security over 5 years through innovative interventions that comprise subsidies, increased budgetary allocations, private sector investment and affordable information and communications technology. Approximately half of the country's subsistence farmers received vouchers which provided discounts on maize seed and fertilizer. To sustain the program, the Malawi Government allocated 11 percent of its budget for 2010/2011 to agriculture, continuing a rare record of commitment on this scale in Africa. The level of investment in the programme was reduced in 2011.[10]
In 2009, Malawi's Ministry of Finance estimated that during the previous four years the share of Malawians living below the poverty line fell from 52 percent to 40 percent. This has been attributed to the country's agricultural policies, which have been seen as pioneering in the context of African economic development.[14]