MALAWI
The Foundation for Smoke Free World (FSFW) has advised farmers that there is a need to shift from tobacco to other crops that could be the country’s main earner as pressure from anti-smoking lobbyists grows.
Jim Lutzweiler, vice president for FSFW responsible for agriculture and livelihoods, said “In the event that tobacco has completely phased out as a reliable cash crop in Malawi, we would like to mobilize interest of people and many other stakeholders to think of an alternative cash crop with a formal market, to help farmers to be able to move on economically.
Albert Changaya, director of extension services, ministry of agriculture, irrigation, and water development, said the issue of an alternative crop to tobacco is not new, and as such, there is a need for advocates to look at what previous advocated did and learn from their successes and failures. James Munthali, parliamentary agriculture committee deputy chairperson, said diversifying from tobacco has to be done in a realistic way. “In my understanding, we are not going to replace tobacco overnight, but we need to gradually replace it,” he added.