By Mercy Matonga:
Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale has bemoaned low tobacco production this year, saying government will collaborate with farmers to shore up production.
Kawale said this during the opening of this year’s tobacco market at Lilongwe Auction Floors on Tuesday.
Kawale expressed satisfaction with tobacco prices at the market despite the reduction in production.
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The minister said the decline could be due to factors such as climate change and fluctuating market prices in recent years.
“While the demand for tobacco remains high, climate change continues to pose challenges to production. Events like cyclones and El Niño have impacted us and there is a need for farmers to adopt irrigation methods and for more farmers to join the tobacco industry through the mega farms programme,” Kawale said.
He added that the government plans to engage farmers to amend the Tobacco Act in a bid to remove challenges they face in the industry.
This year, Malawi is expected to produce 140 million kilogrammes (kg) of tobacco against the demand of 190 million kg, resulting in a 50 million kg deficit.
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Tobacco Association of Malawi Trust President Abel Kalima expressed satisfaction with the market’s starting prices but noted a slight disparity between the lowest and highest prices.
He said he hoped for better price improvements as quality tobacco enters the market.
Banda attributed the reduction in production to discouraging prices in recent years as many farmers abandoned tobacco farming due to poor income.
According to research by Mwapata Institute, the share of Malawian crop farmers that are producing tobacco decreased from 16 percent to 5 percent from 2004 to 2019, with tobacco’s share of the total crop production value also declining sharply.
Japan Tobacco International Managing Director Moffat Gama said this year’s prices are fair given the high demand for tobacco.
He acknowledged challenges faced by farmers due to climate change and rising input costs and pledged that his company would continue supporting the tobacco industry.
“Due to climate change and the increase in prices of inputs, farmers are finding it hard to invest in tobacco and as one of the companies in the tobacco industry, we will continue to come up with mechanisms to support farmers,” Gama said.
Kumbireni Msokora, a farmer from Dowa District, expressed optimism on market prospects, anticipating higher profits compared to the previous season.
He believed that the current prices would enable farmers to invest in inputs for the upcoming growing season.
“These prices will help us buy more inputs for the next growing season as we are selling more than we expected comparing to the last growing season,” Msokora said.
As at Tuesday, 6,487 bales of tobacco were already at the Lilongwe Auction Floors
On Monday, the highest prices were $3.03 per kg at the opening of Chinkhoma market.
On Tuesday, the highest price was $3 and the minimum was $2.
