$14 a year in tobacco wages

The Tobacco Association of Malawi (Tama) has expressed concern over a government decision to ban ‘farming tenancy’ in the country, according to a story in The Nyasa Times.

Felix Thole, head of marketing and business development at Tama, said the ban could have negative implications.

“This can be very costly,” he was quoted as saying. “This means some tenants have to be taken back to their original home.

“Others would not even remember or want to go back to their original homes and would want to be resettled elsewhere.”

Thole suggested that instead of dismantling the whole system, improvements could be made to it.

However; it might be too late for that. The government has dubbed farming tenancy as modern slavery.

Under the system, farm owners get people, usually families, to work for them for food only, with payments being made once a year after the crop, be it tobacco or maize, has been sold.

Tenants complain they get as little as K10,000 after a year’s work – that’s just under $14.00.