A report by the Sustainable Development Initiative (SDI) in Malawi said the nation’s agricultural diversification programs are not yielding the desired results, with farmers struggling to access markets for alternative crops. Maynard Nyirenda, executive director of the SDI, said his organization understands that weaning Malawi off its reliance on tobacco will be a long and challenging process, given the crop’s entrenched history in the country dating back to colonial times, however he emphasized the need for a gradual transition to alternative crops.
The SDI said that after decades of practice, the current tobacco diversification agenda hasn’t yielded economic prosperity, and that the tobacco industry’s diversification programs are driven by the industry itself, creating a conflict of interest. He emphasized the need for a farmer-centered approach, stating that the Malawi government should provide direct market access, technology, and infrastructure for alternative crops such as soya beans, sunflowers, and groundnuts.
“We are saying, let the government own this particular diversification agenda so that the other crops are also given enough support that the tobacco industry has received,” Nyirenda said. “If you can support the same soya beans and whatever alternatives, give it a lot of support as we have been doing on tobacco, it will be sold outside, it will be exported. We will still be getting the same U.S. dollars.”
