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Tag: Malawi

  • Malawi Commits to ‘Decent Work’

    Malawi Commits to ‘Decent Work’

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Malawi’s government has committed to ensuring that there is “decent work” for tobacco sector employees, according to Malawi24.com.

    Hlalerwayo Kelvin Nyangulu, labor commissioner, made the statements during a workshop on strengthening knowledge of labor laws, issues and compliance. “In 2021, the employment act was amended, and we actually abolished tenants labor in Malawi,” Nyangulu said. “So, (the) government is really committed to ensure that we have decent work in the tobacco sector.

    “What is important now is that a decision has been made, a law has been enacted, so what is happening is that as I speak, tenants labor is abolished in Malawi. As you may know, tenants labor was providing fertile ground for child labor; it was also providing fertile ground for forced labor; now that it is abolished, that’s why we are talking about developing standard contracts that will define the relationship between employer and the worker in the tobacco sector,” said Nyangulu.

    Currently, the push is for tobacco workers to be paid monthly wages, according to Nyangulu. “You see, tobacco is produced by smallholder farmers and large estate owners. We have seen that some farmers are complaining that they cannot afford to pay the monthly wages, but since we have the law, we just need to find ways how these farmers can be empowered so that they comply with the law.”

    “What has prompted us to do this is that as ECAM [Employers Consultative Association of Malawi] under ILO, we carried out a training needs assessment, and one of the things that was highlighted there was that many companies or personnel companies are not aware of international labor standards,” said George Khaki, executive director of ECAM. “Actually, it was 62 percent of them who indicated that they were not aware of international labor standards.”

    “So we thought this was a good platform for us to bring the knowledge on international labor standards today, but we are also trying to promote the use of standard contracts; we know that tenants labor was abolished in 2021 in the employment act, which means there will be normal employment relationship for players in the tobacco (sector), and to facilitate that, we are developing a standard contract that can be adopted and be used by the majority of players that do not have capability to develop contrasts,” said Khaki.

  • USAID and Pyxus Partner in Malawi

    USAID and Pyxus Partner in Malawi

    Photo: PAM

    The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will award Pyxus Agriculture Malawi (PAM) $14.6 million over the next five years, Pyxus announced on its website. The money will support the company in maximizing its operational effectiveness and minimizing its exposure to financial risk as it continues to drive sustainable agriculture developments in Malawi.

    The USAID award compliments PAM’s investment to date and offsets certain company expenditures going forward as both entities work to increase the availability of high-quality, climate-smart groundnut seed varieties, boost groundnut production and processing, support improved farmer livelihood and counteract the nation’s high rate of deforestation.

    “Our company has a 30-year history of operating in Malawi and has one of the largest networks of smallholder farmers—most operating on two hectares of land or less—in the country. We have worked diligently to help our contracted farmers successfully grow and market high-quality, sustainable crops, thus improving the livelihood of the farmer, their families, their communities and the country as a whole,” said Pyxus President and CEO Pieter Sikkel, during the partnership signing ceremony at PAM’s state-of-the-art groundnut processing facility in Lilongwe, Malawi.

    “Pyxus is honored to receive this $14.6 million award from USAID, which helps our company to further build capacity, expand impact throughout the legume and forestry value chains, and unlock value for Malawi and its farmers,” added Sikkel.

    Pyxus is honored to receive this $14.6 million award from USAID, which helps our company to further build capacity, expand impact throughout the legume and forestry value chains, and unlock value for Malawi and its farmers.

    Pieter Sikkel, president and CEO, Pyxus

    The agreement aligns with Pyxus’ global environmental, social and governance goals and identifies five focus areas to achieve success: improve Malawi’s legume seed production system through the acceleration of PAM’s current research, breeding and distribution of new high-yielding, climate-resilient, market-demanded and more nutritious legume seed varieties; increase farmer access to high-quality crop inputs and hands-on training of good agricultural practices while simultaneously working to diversify PAM’s contracted farmer base—these efforts enable farmers to increase yields, sales and incomes, driving the development of the country’s commercial agriculture sector; help address smallholder farmer financing roadblocks, which currently put a significant limitation on crop production and overall market success, through fair and affordable crop input financing—minimizing financial roadblocks can help farmers increase yields and improve their overall livelihood; enhance the quality and value of Malawi groundnuts through increased processing capacity of PAM’s groundnut facility, driving job growth, the country’s export opportunities and value addition, resulting in a more impactful private sector contribution to Malawi’s economic growth; and combat deforestation and forest and soil degradation by further developing PAM’s sustainable forestry operation and the introduction of new, innovative energy solutions and soil health amendments to the farmer.

    PAM Managing Director Ronald Ngwira (right) with employees at the company’s groundnut facility in Lilongwe (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)

    “The partnership we’ve launched today, with USAID and Pyxus, will invest in Malawians to accelerate opportunities for more sustainable, inclusive and resilient economic growth,” said USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman during the signing ceremony.

    Coleman added that the partnership contributes to soil health improvements, utilization of clean energy generated from recycled agricultural waste and increasing availability of nutritious food for the Malawian people. 

    The PAM operation was founded in 2019 under Pyxus’ Value-Added Agricultural Products division. Since its inception, PAM has opened one of the largest groundnut processing facilities in Africa, gained government approval to commercialize five new legume seed varieties, cultivated and maintained more than 7,000 hectares of forestry, and unlocked additional income potential for over 20,000 smallholder farmers.

    Tobacco Reporter visited Pyxus Groundnut factory in the first half of 2023 and reported on the operation in its June print edition (see “A Gamble on Goobers“).

  • Malawi Regulator Satisfied With Prices

    Malawi Regulator Satisfied With Prices

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Malawi’s Tobacco Commission (TC) is satisfied with the prices that buyers offered in the 2023 tobacco marketing season, reports Malawi24. The regulator hopes the prices will motivate farmers to grow more tobacco next season

    “This year’s trade demand was at 170 million kilograms and we have supplied 120 million, which means there is a great market opportunity at our disposal,” TC Board Chair Godfrey Chapola was quoted as saying. “One of our strategic goals for the next five years is to raise our annual production to 200 million kilograms.”

    The TC will also be pushing to increase scale and irrigation in tobacco farming over the next five years.

    Chapola said proposed tobacco legislation currently being considered in Parliament would create a more conducive environment for all players and ensure that tobacco remains a strategic crop for Malawi.

    During the 2023 tobacco marketing season, Malawi earned $282.62 million after selling more than 120 million kg of tobacco at an average price of $2.35.

  • Malawi Earns $282.63 Million From Tobacco

    Malawi Earns $282.63 Million From Tobacco

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Malawi earned $282.62 million after selling more than 120 kg of tobacco during the 2023 tobacco marketing season, which ended Aug. 4, 2023, reports Malawi24.

    According to Tobacco Commission Public Relations Officer Telephorus Chigwenembe, the average price this year was $2.35 per kg.

    “It was even more exciting towards the end of the season when buyers offered record prices,” said Chigwenembe.

    He went on to say that there were no serious market disruptions as was the case in the past.

    Registration and licensing of farmers for the 2023/2024 growing season continues at Tobacco Commission offices in Mzuzu, Kasungu, Lilongwe and Limbe.

    The Commission has encouraged farmers to grow more tobacco than they did in the 2022-2023 season.

  • Growers Welcome New Buyer on Market

    Growers Welcome New Buyer on Market

    Tobacco growers in Malawi have welcomed the debut of a new tobacco purchaser, Nyasa Tobacco Buying Co. (NTBC).

    According to a report in the Nyasa Times, NTBC paid $3.06 per kg for burley tobacco at the Lilongwe Auction Floors on July 10.

    Tobacco is Malawi’s largest agricultural export, earning the country much-needed foreign currency. Growers, however, have not always been satisfied with the prices offered for their leaf.

    Tobacco Commission President Joseph Malunga recently assured the country that his organization would bring in more buyers to promote competition.

    Tobacco Reporter recently published a special report about efforts to diversify Malawi’s economy and develop supplemental value chains to reduce the country’s reliance on the golden leaf.  

  • Broadening the Base

    Broadening the Base

    Photos: Taco Tuinstra

    Malawi seeks to reduce its heavy dependence on tobacco.

    By Taco Tuinstra

    The impacts of Malawi’s balance-of-trade crisis were visible in late March even to an infrequent Western visitor who could afford to stay at an upscale hotel. Certain items on the room service menu were consistently out of stock, for example, while getting around Lilongwe required queuing for gasoline and hoping the petrol station would not run dry before the driver reached the pump.

    Because Malawi imports more goods and services than it exports, it suffers a chronic shortage of hard currency. In 2020, the latest year for which figures are available, the country’s import bill was $2.8 billion, versus exports of only $800 million, according to the National Statistics Office. With not enough U.S. dollars to pay for imports, many foreign-made goods were simply unavailable.

    For Malawi’s well-heeled international guests, the shortages represent mere inconveniences. Upon return to their home countries, they will be able to generously make up for the missed food items and travel without worrying about fuel. For the average Malawian, however, the trade deficit represents a real problem. Among other things, the dearth of foreign currency prevented the nation from importing enough fertilizer for its Maize and other crops this year, spelling trouble for food security and social cohesion. While Malawi was peaceful during Tobacco Reporter’s visit in late March, some feared civil unrest. “It’s coming,” warned an industry veteran.

    Visit the countryside in April/May, and you will see how people’s lives change when the tobacco markets open. If the markets fail, however, there will be poverty in the villages.

    Nixon Lita, CEO, TAMA Farmer’s Trust

    One cause of Malawi’s economic problems is the fact that it relies too heavily on a single commodity. Tobacco accounts for between 12 percent and 15 percent of Malawi’s gross domestic product and between 40 percent and 70 percent of export earnings, depending on who you ask and on the season. Cultivation alone employs nearly half a million people, according to the Tobacco Commission, which regulates the trade. Those figures make Malawi the world’s most tobacco-dependent country.

    They also leave Malawi vulnerable to factors outside its control, including climate change and global cigarette sales. “Visit the countryside in April/May, and you will see how people’s lives change when the tobacco markets open,” says Nixon Lita, CEO of the TAMA Farmers Trust, describing the influx of cash at the start of each selling season. “If the markets fail, however, there will be poverty in the villages.”

    Last year is a case in point. Due to unfavorable climate conditions during the growing season, Malawi produced only 85.09 million kg of tobacco in 2022—the lowest volume in a decade, according to the Tobacco Commission. Despite higher per-kilo prices than in 2021, farmers earned just $182.12 million from their leaf sales last year. The reduced inflow of foreign currency in 2022 has left Malawi struggling even harder than usual to import essential items. The money made from this season’s larger crop (see “Back to Normal”) is unlikely to make up for the shortfall.

    Malawi’s overreliance on tobacco will become an even greater problem as global cigarette consumption stagnates. Already, the country’s leaf sales are down considerably from only a few years ago. Between 2016 and 2021, tobacco exports in real terms dropped by 42 percent, according to the World Bank. While local merchants are confident that Malawian burley—the country’s predominant tobacco variety—will continue to find buyers in the near future (see “Enduring Demand“), they are acutely aware that the industry should start preparing for a future with less tobacco, especially as the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control measures to discourage cigarette consumption start to bite.

    Malawi tobacco growers benefit from structured markets, which give them access to customers worldwide. Such infrastructure does not exist for many of the country’s other commodities. The video shows leaf being auctioned at the Lilongwe sales floors.

    Spreading the Risk

    To broaden Malawi’s economic base, stakeholders have stepped up efforts to develop other sectors. The TAMA Farmers Trust, for example, expanded its mandate in 2019. Originally established to represent only tobacco farmers, the organization is now helping its members produce other crops as well. Tobacco merchants such as Limbe Leaf Tobacco Co. (LLTC) and Alliance One Tobacco Malawi (AOTM), too, are encouraging diversification. Leveraging their existing farmer-support structures, they are now also disseminating inputs and agronomic advice for nontobacco crops to their contracted growers.

    Another big push comes from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW), which is an independent U.S. nonprofit organization that is funded by annual gifts from PMI Global Services. Established to “end smoking in this generation,” the FSFW focuses its grantmaking and charitable activities in three categories: health and science research aimed at helping smokers quit or switch to less harmful products, industry transformation and agricultural diversification.

    We should not make the same mistake as with tobacco by developing just one value chain.

    Candida Nakhumwa, vice president and Malawi country director, Foundation for a Smoke-Free World

    The foundation’s agricultural diversification objectives include ensuring that smallholder farmers in Malawi impacted by the declining demand for tobacco are supported to find sustainable alternative livelihoods. To advance these objectives, the FSFW has made grants to set up two institutions—the Centre for Agricultural Transformation (CAT), a science, business and technology incubation hub, and the MwAPATA Institute, an independent agricultural policy think tank that conducts research to inform and improve agricultural-related policies.

    Candida Nakhumwa, FSFW vice president and country director in Malawi, stresses the importance of developing multiple value chains simultaneously. “We should not make the same mistake as with tobacco by developing just one,” she says. In selecting alternative commodities, Nakhumwa urges Malawi to prioritize both exports and import substitution. “We are spending precious foreign exchange on importing things that we should be producing domestically,” she says. “For example, we can make cooking oil from soya beans or sunflower and use that as an import substitute.” Soya beans and sunflower, along with traditional Malawi crops such as groundnuts, also enjoy growing demand internationally, representing export potential.

    For crops like soya bean, sunflower and bananas to succeed, Malawi will need to replicate some of the factors that have allowed tobacco to thrive, notably infrastructure and a deliberate focus on productivity

    Building Markets

    For crops like soya bean, sunflower and groundnuts to succeed, however, Malawi will need to replicate some of the factors that have allowed tobacco to thrive, notably infrastructure and a deliberate focus on productivity. Over the years, the Malawi government gave lots of support to tobacco at the expense of other crops that also had potential, according to Nakhumwa. As a result, the markets for those other value chains remain underdeveloped.

    “The fact that tobacco has a structured market in Malawi, with auction floors and contracting companies, means that leaf growers have access to buyers worldwide—something that is not necessarily the case for producers of other crops,” says Nakhumwa. Without a structured market, producers of nontobacco crops will simply be trading in Malawi kwacha instead of earning hard currency on the global market.

    A structured market also gives confidence to financiers. “Tobacco farmers are not paid in cash; they receive their payments through the bank—so the lenders know they will recover whatever they loaned to the farmer,” says Nakhumwa. Access to finance in turn means access to agricultural inputs, including inorganic fertilizers, which are imported.

    In addition, tobacco has benefited from research and agronomic advice, both through the leaf merchants and the government’s Agricultural Research and Extension Service Trust. Such services have historically been provided at much lower levels to other crops, although this is starting to change as stakeholders adjust to evolving market conditions.

    Due to suboptimal agricultural practices, nontobacco farmers in Malawi are producing at only 30 percent to 40 percent of their potential, according to Nakhumwa. The country’s soils suffer from high acidity and low nutrient levels. These can be fixed using both organic and inorganic fertilizers. However, with commercial banks charging interest rates of 20 percent to 30 percent, tools to improve the soil, such as agricultural lime and inorganic fertilizer, remain out of reach for many smallholder farmers.

    Low productivity means that even though there is demand for Malawi’s nontobacco crops, the country is in many cases unable to satisfy it sustainably. “When a customer in South Africa signs a forward contract, he will want assurance that the goods are going to be delivered consistently,” says Nakhumwa. “If we can supply for only two months and then run dry, we are no longer an attractive supplier for them. The customers may in that case prefer to deal with a seller in Brazil or elsewhere who can guarantee supply.” This is why the FSFW is focusing on enhancing productivity at the farmer level and creating new markets through the CAT.

    At a demonstration farm on the outskirts of Lilongwe the CAT offers a platform for private sector partners to showcase technologies to help farmers optimize their operations.

    Strengthening Skills, Raising Productivity and Creating New Markets

    The CAT aims to boost agricultural productivity through science, technology and innovation while helping innovators turn their ideas into sustainable agribusinesses to create new markets for the alternative commodities produced by smallholders. At a demonstration farm on the outskirts of Lilongwe, the organization offers a platform for a wide range of private sector partners to showcase technologies to help farmers optimize their operations.

    Alongside technologies such as irrigation and ground sensors, the farm features different varieties of maize, groundnut, soya beans, rice and sunflower, among other crops. It also works with agronomists to transfer knowledge: What happens if you plant 10 cm apart or practice double-row planting? What happens if you tweak the amount of fertilizer? According to CAT Executive Director Macleod Nkhoma, such demonstration plots are an effective way to disseminate information to smallholder farmers and promote the adoption of technology, especially in a country with low literacy rates like Malawi.

    In addition to its work on the farm, the CAT helps agricultural entrepreneurs with skills that enable them to access finance and grow their agribusinesses while providing markets to smallholder farmers. “Banks tend to be wary of unstructured markets,” says Macleod. “They view those value chains as very risky.” By supporting the development of these agribusinesses, the CAT helps them to become bankable.

    Already, the center has supported several agricultural ventures, including a project by Hortinet that seeks to reinvigorate Malawi’s dormant banana business through tissue culture (see “From Imports to Orchards”) and an initiative by JAT Investments, which aims to replace the button mushrooms that are currently imported into Malawi with domestically cultivated varieties (see “Fungi Fever“).

    The CAT is helping Hortinet to expand its farmer base from 200 to 700 contracted growers. “Without CAT’s support, we would not have had the capacity to supply that many growers with our banana plantlets,” says Hortinet Executive Director Frank Washoni. JAT Investments benefited from CAT assistance in procuring seeds (spawn) and infrastructure in support of mushroom production. “The CAT helped us procure seed, infrastructure and training, allowing us to grow our growers’ network from two to seven farmers club.” says JAT Investments Operations Director Temwani Gunda. “It we had to work on our own, it would have taken much longer.”

    In terms of weight, Alliance One Tobacco Malawi’s contracted farmers already produce four times more food than tobacco.

    Simon Peverelle, managing director, AOTM

    The Tone at the Top

    To live up to their potential, the nontobacco crops will also need better policy frameworks. According to MwAPATA Executive Director William Chadza, export bans and foreign exchange quota currently disincentivize production. “Farmers are often unable to access hard currency to import agricultural inputs in time for the growing season,” he says. In addition, some government market interventions, frequent policy reversals and the unpredictable business environment limit private investments in the agricultural sector. Contradictory policies relating to land and crops present a hurdle as well, according to Chadza.

    Encouragingly, Malawi’s leadership increasingly appreciates the need to broaden Malawi’s economic base. Whereas the government in the past may have been reluctant to acknowledge the changing situation on the global tobacco market, it now appears more cognizant of the new realities. At the opening of the 2022 marketing tobacco season, Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera openly called for a diversification strategy. “The tone at the top is important,” says Nakhumwa. “If the leaders cannot acknowledge that there is a problem and we need to pivot, stakeholders will not rally behind you.”

    Perhaps surprisingly to some, diversification has also been embraced by the tobacco industry. LLTC is supporting growers with certified food crop seeds grown on company farms in the Kasungu district while researching and developing other food crops for exports. It has collaborated with Feed the Future USAID and will be rolling out low-tech irrigation systems to boost productivity. AOTM has made a big bet on groundnuts (see “A Gamble on Goobers”), helping its contracted farmers increase yields and quality with improved varieties, farming equipment and agronomic advice. In March 2022, the company opened a groundnut processing facility in Lilongwe with the capacity to process 50,000 tons per year.

    It took us more than 50 years to develop the tobacco industry to where it is now,” he says. “There is no way other crops will all of a sudden replace tobacco.

    Joseph Malunga, CEO, Tobacco Commission

    The merchants’ investments in productivity, meanwhile, have enabled tobacco farmers to double their yields, allowing them to produce the same volumes of leaf on fewer hectares and release land for food and other cash crops. Tobacco industry leaders see no contradiction between their support for nontobacco crops and their primary business, arguing that farmer livelihood sustainability is in their interest. “Diversification makes sense,” says Simon Peverelle, managing director of AOTM. In terms of weight, he points out, the company’s contracted farmers already produce four times more food than tobacco.

    But even with government and industry behind diversification, it will take time for Malawi to overcome its heavy reliance on tobacco. Tobacco Commission CEO Joseph Malunga believes the golden leaf will remain a major crop in Malawi for years to come. “It took us more than 50 years to develop the tobacco industry to where it is now,” he says. “There is no way other crops will all of a sudden replace tobacco.”

    Nonetheless, Malunga acknowledges that Malawi needs to spread its eggs over more than one basket. “It is dangerous for us as a country to rely on one thing because if something goes wrong, you are definitely in trouble,” he says. Rather than looking for commodities to replace tobacco, however, Malunga urges Malawi to promote crops that work alongside it, just like the leaf merchants have been integrating food crops into their tobacco operations.

    Malawi has a long way to go, but through the combination of government, industry and nonprofit initiatives currently underway, it should be able to gradually develop a more diverse economy with multiple crops and livestock generating income, so that a bad season in one sector won’t automatically reverberate across the entire country. The stakes are high, witnessed by the economic difficulties in the wake of last year’s short tobacco crop. Success will mean not only greater food security but also more hard currency to import the items that Malawi cannot produce at home. With luck, it may even boost tourism, as the country’s struggling hospitality sector will be able to stock more of the items its foreign customers expect.

    Taco Tuinstra is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial director. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, he coordinates the work of staff writers and contributors. On his watch, Tobacco Reporter has won several awards for editorial excellence. Since joining the magazine in 1997, Taco has visited more than 75 countries to meet industry representatives in their markets and to report tobacco news firsthand.
  • Enduring Demand

    Enduring Demand

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Malawi burley remains popular even as global smoking rates stagnate

    Even as cigarette sales stagnate in many markets, demand for Malawi burley remains robust. An important component in the toolbox of the tobacco blender, burley is a key ingredient not only in the popular American blend cigarettes but also in roll-your-own and make-your-own products along with pipe tobaccos.

    Due to last year’s short crop, leaf merchants are anticipating strong interest this season. In 2022, the country produced only 69.2 million kg of burley—against an estimated demand of 150 million kg. This year, the Tobacco Commission is expecting 106 million kg.

    While burley is produced in several countries, including in southeastern Africa, industry representatives are confident that Malawi can hold its own against other suppliers. “Malawi is still a preferred origin of burley,” says Joseph Malunga, chief executive of the Tobacco Commission. “Even regionally, our burley is better than that from other origins.”

    Malunga suspects that demand for Malawi burley will increase as the country tackles concerns raised by customers about agricultural labor methods. Traditional rural African practices, such as tenancy, in which a farmer provides workers with food and housing during the season but pays them only after the harvest, or requiring children to help out on the family farm, are frowned upon in Western countries where many tobacco buyers are headquartered.

    The commission has done a lot to communicate what customers want, but some farmers will get the message very late. It will be a gradual transition.

    Joseph Malunga, CEO, Tobacco Commission

    Tobacco companies have been pressuring their suppliers to abandon these habits, and in 2019 the Malawi government banned tenancy. Leading buyers of Malawi leaf have systems in place that not only prohibit their contracted growers from deploying children or tenants but also include elaborate verification mechanisms. In 2020, such systems helped Limbe Leaf, Alliance One International and Premium Tobacco Malawi quickly convince U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) that their supply chains were free of forced labor when the agency temporarily prevented Malawi tobacco from entering the United States based on concerns about forced labor. Impressed by the leaf merchants’ responsible supply chain management, CPB swiftly lifted its ban on tobacco imported by those companies.

    Recognizing the progress made, some customers who left due to compliance issues are now coming back, according to Malunga. “They see that we have been doing our homework.”

    But while the tobacco produced under contract with leaf merchants generally complies with the standards expected by Western governments and customers, the picture is less clear for the independently cultivated tobacco sold at auction, which accounts for approximately 10 percent of Malawi tobacco production.

    The country’s tobacco industry is dominated by smallholder farming. With nearly half a million individuals cultivating leaf in Malawi, many of them living in remote areas and many of them illiterate, it will take a while for the message to reach everybody. “We have made big strides—to the extent of having laws,” says Malunga. “But you cannot expect these practices to stop overnight. The commission has done a lot to communicate what customers want, but some farmers will get the message very late. It will be a gradual transition.”

    Don McAlpin, managing director of Limbe Leaf Tobacco Co., which is affiliated with Universal Corp., hopes the change will come sooner than later. For Malawi to maintain its appeal on the global market, it will be essential for the noncontracted growers to meet ESG targets, he says. “Any perceived concerns about sustainability or ESG issues in Malawi create a reputational risk to the Malawi brand and could impact Malawi tobacco regardless of the percentage that is contracted and compliant.” –T.T.

  • Back to Normal

    Back to Normal

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Following a record low harvest in 2022, Malawi has produced a more typical crop this season.

    After last year’s short crop, the Malawi tobacco trade is looking forward to more normal volumes this season. Typically, Malawi’s rainy season starts in November/December, but in 2022, the rains came much later, delaying the growing season by two months to three months.

    The drought coincided with transplanting in Malawi, causing a good percentage of the tobacco to dry out. Farmers contracted with one prominent leaf merchant alone suffered 35 percent plant mortality. As a result of the adverse weather conditions, Malawi produced 85 million kg of leaf last year—the lowest volume in a decade, according to the Tobacco Commission.

    This season, by contrast, is looking more promising. The trade is anticipating some 128 million kg of leaf, closer to the normal figure of 130 million kg. Burley accounts for most of the volume (81 percent), followed by flue-cured Virginia (16 percent) and dark air-cured tobacco (3 percent). Initial surveys indicate a good quality leaf as well.

    Nixon Lita

    Industry representatives cite favorable weather during the growing season, with rain falling in the right places at the right times and in the right volumes—until Tropical Cyclone Freddy struck southern Africa. The system—the longest-lasting on record—pulled warm air from the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the Congo over the southern and central parts of Malawi for much of February and March, resulting in perpetual overcast and rainy conditions in those regions. When it hit Malawi on March 11, it brought torrential rains and gale force winds, dumping up to 300 mm of rain in a 24-hour period. Cyclone Freddy caused massive landslides and flooding, killing more than 1,000 Malawians. Tobacco companies have been contributing to relief efforts through the Tobacco Processors Association.

    But while the storm devastated lives and infrastructure, it largely spared Malawi’s tobacco crop, and the market opened as scheduled on April 12. That is because most Malawi tobacco is grown in the country’s central and northern regions whereas the storm hit hardest in the south. According to Nixon Lita, chief executive of the TAMA Farmers Trust, the little tobacco that is grown in southern Malawi matures earlier than the leaf produced in the central and northern regions. “By the time the cyclone hit, many farmers had already reaped their tobacco,” he says.

    Despite the increased volumes, Malawi will still fail to meet demand (see “Enduring Demand“), which is estimated at 150 million kg this year. According to Lita, it’s hard to double production in 12 months, especially with the significantly higher cost of production (see “Coping with the COP”) this year. If burley shortage results in good prices, as predicted, it should encourage more farmers to plant tobacco next year. –T.T.

  • Fungi Fever

    Fungi Fever

    Photo: Volodymyr Herasymov

    Mushrooms sprout new opportunities for Malawi

    As Malawi seeks to diversify its economy, button mushrooms are emerging as one of the promising alternatives. Not only are the fungi popular among Malawians, who like to eat them as pizza toppings and in other foods, the country’s climate and growing conditions are also conducive to its production. To date, domestic production has been minimal, however. In the 1980s, a government research station cultivated limited numbers, but the organization failed to invest in farmer training. Over time, domestic production fell by the wayside. Today, Malawi imports 92 percent of its button mushrooms from South Africa.

    Lilongwe-based JAT Investments seeks to change that by promoting domestic cultivation. According to founder and Managing Director Temwani Gunda, mushrooms offer many advantages to the farmer. For starters, they require less land than other crops. “You can grow them in a small shed,” she says, adding that this also protects them to a degree from the impacts of climate change.

    The labor, meanwhile, is easy compared with tobacco. “You don’t need to go into the fields and be exposed to the elements,” says Gunda. “This means it is an inclusive commodity; even old people manage them.” Selling for approximately MKW10,000 ($9.75) per kilogram, mushrooms also offer attractive yields. A shed of 3.5 meters by 5 meters can produce 250 kg of mushrooms. One growing cycle takes about two months, allowing farmers in Malawi to grow three times per year. “And that’s the production from just one shed,” says Gunda.

    Farmers venturing into mushrooms should also have no trouble selling them. A consultant hired by JAT Investments estimated domestic demand at between 70 tons and 75 tons.

    Temwani Gunda, founder and managing director, JAT Investments

    Farmers venturing into mushrooms should also have no trouble selling them. A consultant hired by JAT Investments estimated domestic demand at between 70 tons and 75 tons.

    The greatest challenge for Malawi mushroom producers is seed (spawn). Because there is no domestic production, it must be imported from South Africa or elsewhere. This adds not only cost and time but also risk—if the shipper does not properly control the temperature, the seed won’t germinate.

    With the help of the Centre for Agricultural Transformation (CAT), JAT Investments expanded its farmer base from two to seven farmer “clubs,” each of which contains between 10 and 15 mushroom growers. The CAT also assisted with seed procurement, infrastructure and farmer training, allowing the number of farmers to grow at a much faster pace than it could have managed otherwise.

    According to Gunda, growers, including many tobacco farmers, have been lining up to join the project—and they appear to have been pleased with the performance of the fungi. “Just one crop of mushroom allowed me to pay school fees and buy fertilizer for my maize,” says one JAT grower. A colleague lauds the fact that, unlike tobacco, mushrooms are good for health and don’t require him to chop down trees.—T.T.

  • From Imports to Orchards

    From Imports to Orchards

    Photos: Taco Tuinstra

    Rebuilding the banana value chain

    Until the late 1990s, bananas were big business in Malawi. The industry employed between 2 million and 3 million people and completely satisfied domestic demand. But then a nasty plant virus hit. Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) wiped out production, forcing many former Malawi banana farmers to find alternative livelihoods. Today, the country relies almost entirely on imports. More than 90 percent of bananas consumed in Malawi are now purchased in Tanzania and Mozambique, which demand to be paid in precious foreign currency.

    Supported by the Centre for Agricultural Transformation (CAT), Lilongwe-based Hortinet is working to reestablish banana production in Malawi. Through its efforts, it aims to create employment, reduce imports and offer Malawi an additional source of income while diversifying the country’s economy and reducing its heavy reliance on tobacco exports.

    Bananas are a popular food in Malawi, so there is opportunity for import substitution, according to Frank Washoni, executive director of Hortinet. “Currently, we are exporting jobs,” he says. “This is something our smallholders could be doing if they get the appropriate support.”

    The strategy to deal with BBTV requires banana growers to uproot and burn their infected bananas and replace them with disease-free imported planting materials. The biggest challenge has been accessing clean planting materials. Until recently, there were no proper banana seed systems in Malawi. Because the existing crop strand had outlived its economic lifespan, there were no proper systems to supply banana growers with clean planting materials to reestablish their orchards.

    To address this problem, Hortinet in 2019 established Malawi’s first commercial banana tissue culture lab, allowing it to produce large quantities of planting materials in a short time. Hortinet gives plantlets to smallholder growers, negotiates production contracts and provides extension services. “At the end of the season, we buy the product—banana fruit—for either distribution or value addition,” says Washoni. Among other things, bananas can be used to make flour and chips.

    However, while Hortinet has the experience and technology, it lacked the means to scale up its out-grower project and supply the desired 700 farmers. So the CAT, as part of a five-year project, helps Hortinet train potential banana growers at its smart farm. The idea is that, after five years, Hortinet will have sufficiently grown to self-finance its continued expansion to more smallholder farmers.

    Washoni believes the potential domestic market is considerable. “According to the ministry of agriculture, we lost more than 25,000 hectares representing at least 10 metric tons of bananas each,” he says. “Today, we are importing 20,000 tons per year, supporting only the urban areas—so there is still a big deficit.”

    Hortinet is determined to make a dent in that deficit. By the end of next year, it wants to distribute at least 1 million plantlets and establish a minimum of 500 ha of banana production with its contracted smallholders. With a plan to add 500 ha each year, Hortinet will have supported the establishment of 2,000 ha by the end of four years.

    Washoni views bananas as a good opportunity for farmers looking to diversify. At the CAT smart farm, Hortinet demonstrates how profitable the fruit can be compared to other crops. While the initial payback period is longer than for tobacco, bananas offer multiple returns each season. “Once in the ground, you might harvest on a quarterly basis,” says Washoni. At 15 tons per acre, the potential yield per unit of area is also high. And other than water, bananas require few inputs. Farmers can get away with organic manure and limited amounts of inorganic fertilizer. What’s more, bananas require relatively little land. “Even on a plot of only 20 [meters] by 20 meters, it might make economic sense for the farmer to put in an orchard,” says Washoni.

    The next step will be to establish a structured market. Unlike tobacco, which has multiple players, a dedicated regulator and a well-developed system for selling and buying, there is no comparable infrastructure for bananas in Malawi. According to Washoni, it’s a work in progress. “Once we hit a critical mass, we will need an organized market,” he says. Right now, our priority is to get production going.”—T.T.