Lilongwe — Auction Holdings Limited Malawi, has called on tobacco farmers to stop using children in their farms.

The company’s General Manager Evance Matabwa said this practice of using children to work in tobacco estates is against international labour laws.

“Children are not supposed to work in farms and estates. As Auction Holdings, we are against this practice and we are appealing to farmers to desist from it, not only because it is wrong, but it is also against international labour laws,” Matabwa said.

He said the use of child labour in tobacco farmers was ruining the reputation of the country, and scaring away buyers.

“Child labour is prohibited on the international trade. International buyers risks loosing their trade license if it is established that they are linked with child labour in any form. The country risks losing the some of its markets if we continue to use children in our farms,” he emphasized.
Matabwa has since advised farmers to invest their children’s future in education.

“As a company we are encouraging tobacco farmers to send their children to school to get education,” he said, adding, “the future of their children lies in getting education. It is the policy of Auction Holdings to work with farmers in providing educational infrastructure such as schools,” Matabwa added.
Malawi is one of the 10 top countries in the world where child labour is rampant.

Other countries where the child labour is rampant are Thailand, Vietnam, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.