Ministry of Agriculture has urged tobacco growers to produce a crop that meets buyers’ demand, stressing that continuously failing to meet demand has the potential to disenfranchise buyers.

Speaking on Thursday in Lilongwe during Tama Farmers Trust Annual General Meeting, Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe said while the demand for the crop is high, the country’s growers usually fail to meet the demand.

Lowe: We can easily calculate

He said: “We can easily calculate the cost of opportunities lost this year by looking at the difference between demand and anticipated supply in relation to the price on the market.

“Farmers are now able to produce more than 1 800 kilogrammes [kg] of tobacco per hectare up from the ranges of 1 000 kg per hectare before the integrated production system. This is one good step in the right direction as improving productivity is key to diversification.”

Lowe said the recent global events should teach farmers the need to intensify on value addition and stop exporting commodities in raw form.

He said his ministry is working on an Agricultural and General Crops Act which will see improvements in the conduct of markets for all crops and encourage investments in production and value addition.

Lowe said the Ministry of Agriculture is currently reviewing the Tobacco Industry Act so that the 2022/23 crop will be produced and sold under the revised law.

In a statement, Tama Farmers Trust president Abiel Kalima Banda said by continously failing to meet demand, there is likelihood that buyers would reduce demand for Malawi tobacco as it affects their annual business plans.

“The future of tobacco remains bright because global demand still exists and Malawi still does not match the required demand,” he said.

On the rising cost of input prices such as seed and fertilisers, Banda said the development will not affect growers because they have buyers and banks that offer loans for them to afford inputs.

Currently, Banda said they are conducting campaigns to woo growers to participate in the 2022/23 growing season so that next projected demand will have to be met.

Projected tobacco output, according to the first round of crop estimates, is 103 million kg against buyers’ demand of 154 million kg.

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