Tobacco Asia

Tobacco Asia 69 We'd like to let you in on an industry secret You can view the latest issue of TOBACCO ASIA magazine and TOBACCO ASIA's archived issues and searchable content at www.tobaccoasia.com All free. No passwords. No paywall. Just click and read. preneurship academies, hackathons, and AgTech challenges. In March this year, CAT launched the ba- nana project, which is meant to revitalize banana production through modern agricultural technolo- gies and knowledge transfer. According to CAT, the MWK90 million pilot project, which will bene- fit over 600 banana farmers, seeks to enhance pro- ductivity, improve market access, and introduce climate-smart farming practices. In November 2024, the project entered its second phase, CAT II, which will last until Oc- tober 2025. According to the organization, all ac- tivities will build on lessons learned from CAT I. The center will leverage its network of three smart farms, 300 remote agri-clinic sites, and over 80 trusted implementing partners. As of June 2025, information about future funding of the initiative was not available. Promoting diversification alongside tobacco TAMA has also introduced programs to help farmers diversify. "TAMA has been working with like-minded institutions to promote diversification alongside tobacco, and not away from tobacco," Lita clarifies. "In the short to medium term, we believe tobacco will remain the main export crop for Malawi until attractive competitors are identi- fied." Perhaps a more realistic approach, given the role tobacco has played for Malawi over the past decades. He adds that soya and other legumes like groundnuts have been promoted for diversifica- tion with mixed results, but the main challenge has been unreliable markets or off-takers and fluctuat- ing prices, making the business difficult to plan. "Farmers with large landholding estates have been diversifying with macadamia nuts, a crop that is not attractive to smallholder farmers due to the long waiting period before the first harvest. Other parties tried to promote cannabis, but it hasn't been a success due to lack of markets. So far, the road towards diversification has been bumpy, and tobacco remains the most preferred cash crop due to pricing certainties and assurance of buyer avail- ability." In contrast to other crops, tobacco has an established, structured market system, Lita ex- plains. "A farmer knows where to sell and who will buy at a minimum of how much in US dol- lars, thus easier to plan with, whilst with the other crops a well-structured market is yet to be estab- lished and price volatility has been a discourage- ment for farmers. Tobacco, unlike the competing crops, is well supported by policy and regulations as it has an act of law specifically to promote the production and trade." He expects a significant impact from the loss of USAID funding. In February, the US govern- ment froze USAID funding to Malawi, which ac- cording to the US State Department had been pro- viding more than US$350 million annually, with many of these funds supporting farmers in tran- sitioning away from tobacco. "USAID has been an active partner assisting many sectors that work with rural communities such that most of the proj- ects were interlinked. For example, one program involved tobacco farmers producing groundnuts as a means of diversification, supplying another food nutrition program that needed the ground- nuts to address a protein deficiency problem for lower primary school pupils. So the withdrawal of USAID funding has meant these farmers are no longer assured of a market for their groundnuts. This is an example of how big the development has impacted negatively on diversification efforts and also rural livelihoods." Now being a party to the FCTC, which en- courages countries to promote economically vi- able alternatives for tobacco farmers, Malawi can expect support from the WHO to develop and im- plement such alternatives in the future. In Febru- ary this year, the country began assessing its needs for effective implementation of the FCTC. "With pressure mounting on tobacco trade, Malawian farmers are aware that there is a need to identify an alternative and as such would welcome any crop enterprise that will assure them of equally good profits," concludes Lita. "Support institu- tions need to continue working with the farmers to explore such alternatives and ensure the busi- ness will be supported by government policy, just as it is with tobacco." "With pressure mounting on tobacco trade, Malawian farmers are aware that there is a need to identify an alternative." —Nixon Lita, TAMA Farmers Trust.

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