OPINION | Better Under Chakwera – Tobacco Farmers

For anyone who truly cares about Malawi and respects the struggle of its smallholder farmers, what is happening in the tobacco industry today is not just worrying — it is painful to watch.

Many farmers are now saying it plainly: removing President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera last year was a costly mistake.

Tobacco is not just another crop. It is Malawi’s economic engine. For decades, it has carried this country on its back — bringing in over half of export earnings, supporting the kwacha, and putting money into the hands of hundreds of thousands of rural families.

These are not big corporations. These are ordinary farmers. They grow tobacco to survive — to pay school fees, to buy fertilizer, to fix their homes, to feed their families.

So when tobacco fails, Malawi feels it everywhere.

And right now, it is failing.

The latest figures from the Tobacco Commission are alarming. In the first week of this year’s marketing season, total sales reached only $4.8 million. Even worse, 98% of the tobacco was rejected.

Ninety-eight percent.

That means almost everything farmers brought to the market was turned away. No sale. No money. Just losses.

Many farmers are now forced to carry their tobacco back home or sell it at painfully low prices. The average price has dropped to just $2.13 per kilogram — barely enough to cover the cost of production.

Now compare that to last year.

In the same opening week under President Chakwera, farmers earned $9.4 million — almost double. Prices were also higher, averaging above $2.30 per kilogram.

This is not a small difference. It is a collapse.

And people are starting to realise it.

There was a belief that leadership could be judged by simple, visible things — like whether people could afford a plate of nsima. But the economy is bigger than that. Real stability is built on production, exports, and income in people’s pockets.

On 16 September 2025, Malawians made a choice.

Today, tobacco farmers are living with the consequences.

Auction floors in Lilongwe, Limbe, Mzuzu and beyond are not just marketplaces — they are the heartbeat of rural Malawi. When they are strong, villages come alive. Money circulates. Children stay in school. Small businesses grow.

But when they weaken, everything slows down. Homes suffer. Schools struggle. Local economies shrink.

This is not just a bad season.

It points to something deeper — a loss of focus, a loss of urgency, and a loss of understanding of how critical the tobacco sector is to Malawi’s survival.

Good leadership protects its farmers. It fights for better prices. It ensures systems work. It does not leave farmers exposed.

What we are seeing now suggests that protection is gone.

And farmers are paying the price.

 

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :