Mafia is mostly sandy and the terrain very flat. There is a ridge forming a backbone to the northern end but at its highest point, it does not exceed 200 feet above sea level.
The majority of people on Mafia still rely on subsistence farming of rice, corn and sweet potatoes, and the production of cash crops, particularly coconuts and cashew nuts.
Coconuts continue to be an important export. As the local saying has it: Minazi hatarini kutoweka, uchumi wa kisiwa kutetereka. ‘It’s dangerous not to plant coconuts, the whole economy shakes (if you do not do so’).
