A Smoking Hot Topic - Malawi Mulls Tobacco vs Cannabis Crops

Tobacco contributes over 60% of earnings to Malawi's economy but President Lazarus Chakwera has said that farmers should move away from growing the product and switch to other other cash crops, like cannabis, which has been legalised in the country in 2020, for industrial and medicinal use. The president said that Malawi's tobacco industry "is dying". He added that Malawi needed "an exit strategy to transition farmers to crops that are more sustainable and more profitable." Prices for tobacco has taken a huge knock, largely because of low global demand and ongoing global anti-smoking campaigns backed by the World Health Organization.

 

 

InFocus

tobacco farm, top, cannabis crop,bottom left, cannabis oil, middle, picked cannabis (file photo).

Follow AllAfrica

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.