Greetings from the Munda wa Chitedze Fa rm wh e r e I relocated from the hustle and bustle of your city. Peace and only peace reigns supreme here.
As I write, President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday opened the tobacco marketing season. The Lilongwe selling floors opened first, with Chinkhoma scheduled for yesterday as Limbe opens on Monday before Mzuzu follows suit.
From the opening day, it was clear the farmers were crying foul, seeing their money going up in smoke. The prices, with most farmers selling at as low as $1.20 per kilo. The propaganda mill, however, went to town only showing us the first bale going at $3.20 per kilogramme.
It was just smoke and mirrors that at the auction floors were a display of 4 by 4 cars, which Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale said was a sign of successful farmers benefitting from the National Economic Empowerment Fund (Need) loans. This was just a distraction from the real burning issue surrounding the green gold.
As the tobacco leaf continues to wilt, our small economy will continue to shrink. We can’t go to town screaming how much tobacco contributes to the economy with regard to the gross domestic product, forex earnings, number of people employed in the industry, etc.
Dear Diary, once upon a time Malawi’s addiction to tobacco as a cash crop was evident. The way the farmers displayed their new found wealth lies bare. Look at the Kang’ombe House in Lilongwe to see how a single tobacco farmer could build a multi-storey building in the capital.
While some farmers have withdrawn from tobacco, it remains an important crop. The plummeting prices, then, foretell doom.
B e f o re the mar ket s opened, we were told tobacco production rose from 133 million kilogrammes last year, tobacco farmers this year are expected to produce 174 million kilogrammes. This is much lower than the buyers’ demand of 213 million.
Moreover, there was a new buyer, East ridge, bringing the number of buyers to 11. Questions about this company would come later, but for now, one would wonder why the leaf is fetching low prices?
With production less than the demand, the prices should go up. With more companies, it means more demand, which, again, should translates into higher prices.
It is an insult to farmers. It hurts us at the Munda wa Chitedze Farm, although we don’t focus on cultivating flue-cured, dark-fired or burley tobacco because we don’t want to fall into the trap of abusing children for cheap labour and degrade the environment further.
The Tobacco Commission (TC) conducted consultations with farmers on their production costs to work out the minimum prices.. Production costs were very high this year, since most farmers had to replant three times due to dry spells. Even more, maize shortages led to higher prices for farmers to feed or pay their workers. Transport costs increased due to fuel shortages while inputs such as fertilisers, certified seed, chemicals and even hessian sacks rose drastically, pinning the farmer to the floor.
Did the TC consultation mean anything or they were just a waste of resources?
Reports have it that some farmers were selling their crop three times higher than our formal market to smugglers from across the border. Would that be surprising and can the fight against smugglers be won that way? Wishful thinking. Farmers need to eat.
While those at the farm are not given to tobacco addiction, we fight for an auction for our super Chitedze. We will even have companies engaging farmers on contract. By the way, why should Christians encourage farmers to grow tobacco?
