Agri Minister Lowe furious over tobacco rejection rate, summons buyers

Agriculture minister Lobin Lowe has expressed fury over the high rejection rate currently at 72 percent.

Lowe expressed the concern in Limbe Blantyre, when he presided over commissioning of this year’s Limber Auction Floors tobacco marketing season.

The agriculture minister said his Ministry has since summoned all stakeholders to discuss the problem and that he that a lasting solution will be found.

“We are worried with the rejection rate that is why will be meeting with buyers and other,” said Lowe.

Agriculture Minister Robin Lowe at Auction Floors

Lowe has since urged farmers to ensure quality of tobacco is up to date, in order for them fetch more on their tobacco saying buyers are so strict now.

“Let me urge associations to encourage farmers to bring quality tobacco free of moisture.”

Lowe has since cautioned farmers to avoid child labour. He said there is need to adhere to all set standards so that no one make unnecessary alarm.

Apart from tobacco, Lowe encouraged farmers to diversify as well as forming cooperatives so that they are able to diversify into other crops like Soya, beans, maize , groundnuts and cotton.

Speaking during the same function , AHL Group acting General Manager Alfred Nkhono gave background of Limbe Floors in which he said that Limbe floors operations in 1936 meaning that is 85 years in operation.

The floor was designed to sell 5000 bails per day but during the opening day 1,500 bails were up for grab.

Nkhono said AHL is ready to run the market despite Covid-19 pandemic adding that the company will give cash in time to all tobacco farmers and stakeholders in time and ensure that there is no corruption.

He assured farmers of good Tobacco prices since the demand is higher than the supply.

Tama President Abiel Kalima Banda has since commended buyers for adherence to good prices.

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Assange WikiLeaks
2 years ago

Issues of quality control are important. The local farmers need to be taught about this subject matter. It is not advisable just to blame the buyers. Do we have alangizi in the villages. They all varnished with Bakili Muluzi. He is another rubble wasting tax payers money wherever he is.

BigMan
BigMan
2 years ago

Malawi, why do we still submit ourselves to this colonial ritual of begging azungu who don’t care about the locals for better prices year in year out?

Doing the same thing and expecting different results is madness!

Tell these farmers to diversify into something else and move away from this dastardly occupation.

Or find other markets without these anglo saxons as middlemen.

Kamchiputu
2 years ago

As long as Government is involved in fixing prices the buyers will do everything posisble to frustrate the Government’s efforts because it is politicising the auction sale.Leave this business to the farmers and buyers to strike a deal nbetween themselves without Government’s intervention. Why don’t you go to Limbe market or Bvumbwe market to do the same? People in Chikwawa and Nsanje and Balaka get very bad prices for cotton and you pretend you don’t know. Tribalism.

BigMan
BigMan
2 years ago
Reply to  Kamchiputu

You think if government doesnt fix minimum price, the buyers will pay more to the local farmers? I doubt it. It is in the buyers genetics to pay minimum price.

Za mkutu
Za mkutu
2 years ago

Dont blame mzungu. Their is no mzungu buyer in malawi. All azungu ali kwao ku ulaya. Tokha tokha amalawi tikupondelezana. The buyers are black malawians working for white man who is in usa or europe.

Same rejected tobacco akadyapo wakuda malawiyo, agula mawa same tobacco double the price, chifukwa choti wadyapo.

Ali Palimandi
2 years ago

Tobacco with moisture cannot sell. Try to smoke moist tobacco! Yuk!

Ndafera Nkhande
Ndafera Nkhande
2 years ago

Hammer them Hon LOWE. These buyers have got the trend of rejecting tobacco and then buy the following offer date at a very low price. Their strategy is to punish those who are not on contract. We trust in your government to act accordingly as the previous DPP failed to solve this malpractice.You can not sell one bale out of 20 and yet we have tenants to pay back.Please chonde tavutika mokwana bwana Lowe .Tinvereni chisoni alimife.

Lumbani
Lumbani
2 years ago

Government should stop forcing prices or should just buy the tobacco itself if it has good prices. These are the consequences. Moreover how special are tobacco farmers? We too are farmers. Government does not set prices in our sector.

Bonke
Bonke
2 years ago

Same stories, no change. We will slave as long as the mzungu is there

mapuya
mapuya
2 years ago
Reply to  Bonke

Lets switch to industial hemp remove the exhbitantant licence on hemp so that more farmers can participate in this farming

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