Tobacco cultivation. Malawi, between dependence and precariousness
June 19, 2020
Par: communication@cnct.fr
Dernière mise à jour: June 19, 2020
Temps de lecture: 3 minutes
Malawi, one of the world's leading producers of tobacco leaves, is being hit hard by the current pandemic. The crisis in the tobacco sector is having an impact on the thousands of people dependent on the sector and on the country's economic balance, as presidential elections approach.
Tobacco, the “green gold” of the Malawian economy?
The country's entire economy revolves around tobacco farming, long considered "green gold." Accounting for 6.6% of global exports, tobacco leaf farming is a financial resource for the country: it corresponds to 70% of Malawi's foreign exchange earnings, and brought in $237 million in 2017, according to the Central Bank of Malawi.[1].
An economy too vulnerable
This situation irremediably leads to dependence on the tobacco sector, and a vulnerability of the Malawian economy to market fluctuations and external contingencies. Thus, the decision of the United States to block all imports of tobacco from Malawi, accused of exploiting nearly 80,000 children in tobacco plantations, initiated an economic crisis in the country, aggravated a few months later by the development of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The transition to a sustainable development model: the challenge for Malawi
While tobacco farming is responsible for endemic, multi-generational poverty and the destruction of Malawi’s ecosystems, the country remains one of the last countries not to have ratified the international treaty of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Malawi’s next presidential elections will be held on June 23, offering the possibility of a turning point in the direction of Malawi’s economic strategy. As such, the provisions of the FCTC provide support to help countries in their transition to a more sustainable economy.[2]-[3].
To learn more about the subject, read our analysis: “Tobacco as an obstacle to development: the case of Malawi”
[1] La Croix, “Malawi: before the presidential election, the crisis of small tobacco producers”, 06/18/2020
https://www.la-croix.com/Malawi-presidentielle-crise-petits-producteurs-tabac-2020-06-18-1301100451
[2] To access the Convention, click on this link:
[3] https://www.generationsanstabac.org/application-de-la-cclat-par-les-parties/
