Malawi earns millions of dollars in foreign exchange each year from tobacco, but there are desperate moves afoot to persuade farmers to diversify into other crops. Nearly a million kilos a day are sold from numerous purpose-built floors as large as the world's largest aircraft hangars. And it is against this background that the debate continues as to whether the country should be so dependent on one crop, particularly when it is tobacco.
Most farmers strongly disagree.
We are an important player in a global market and we will continue to supply tobacco for the next 100 years. Tobacco farmer Arthur Stevens, who has held a number of posts on agricultural advisory councils, takes a broader view. While not arguing for a switch to other crops, he says there should be some diversification. This diversification is not aimed so much at the replacement of tobacco as the primary export. It is more to supplement the crop.