The notion that maize is central to food security in Malawi is a widely held view. To date, however, ‘maize-led development’ has produced disappointing outcomes. The study provides an overview of the historical, political, environmental context of the maize agrifood system in Malawi, and uses the TEEBAgriFood framework to analyze maize in relation to three distinct parameters: input stocks and flows, fertility stocks and flows, and maize stocks and flows. It explores the costs of remaining beholden to a maize-centric agrifood system, as well as the factors that keep this system in place despite calls for agricultural diversification.